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Thorsteinn Sigfusson: The actual is to first replace the fuels used for transport and the idea is to make hydrogen in Iceland using our electricity from the hydro electric network, using our own water, because we simply split the water, our own water, we split it into hydrogen and oxygen, we collect the hydrogen, we pump it onto the buses, three Daimler Chrysler buses, similar to the ones Australia is planning for Perth. We have for this established a station.
Alexandra de Blas: So you’ve got one hydrogen station at the moment, have you?
Thorsteinn Sigfusson: Yes, exactly, and that’s the first commercial station in the world. It’s situated in Reykjavik, it’s open to the public.
Alexandra de Blas: So what happens? You just drive your car up to the service station and then fill up with hydrogen?
Thorsteinn Sigfusson: Yes, the buses will come in the morning and in six minutes, they will be able to fill for a whole day’s journey, for about 220 kilometre journey for that day.
Alexandra de Blas: Are these buses run on fuel cells?
Thorsteinn Sigfusson: Yes they run on fuel cells. What happens with the fuel cells when you replace the combustion engine, the classical combustion engine with a fuel cell is that you really double the efficiency of the hydrogen. If you take a typical gasoline or diesel vehicle, only about may 15%, 16% of the heat value of the fuel goes to moving the wheels. In the case of fuel cell cars like our buses will be, you have about 30% reaching the wheels. full: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s868395.htm
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There is also the generation of power from ocean waves which didn't get much notice in the "BotAS" article. Probably both solutions are virtually ignored because they are "unrealistic" i.e. "un-economic".
see e.g. : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/diogenesthecynic/message/4316
Touting fission power as a solution to global warming only plays into the hands of short term Capital gains and the long term extinction of the human race, IMO.
Regards, Mike B)
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