The Foreign Service Journal, December 2003

62 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 3 celand traditionally con- jures up images of dramatic natural landscapes, plenti- ful catches of fish, ESPN’s “World’s Strongest Man” competition and eccentric pop artist Björk. But now, Iceland is positioning itself as something quite differ- ent: a pioneer at the cutting edge of energy technology, on the verge of breaking free of its dependence on imported fossil fuels. This is no ecological fantasy. In fact, Iceland is in the early stages of a decades-long experiment in which the whole country will, in effect, serve as a laboratory. If the experiment is successful, Iceland will become the world’s first hydrogen econo- my by the year 2050. This will be a long process, but so committed are Icelanders that the government has made this goal a part of its official policy. Still, it has been anything but smooth sailing for the man credited with the initial idea more than 25 years ago. When Dr. Bragi Árnason, a chemistry professor at the University of Iceland, wrote his first paper on the hydrogen option in 1978, it met with skepticism. “People said I was being stupid,” Árnason recalls. Few shared his enthusiasm for a new, clean, renewable energy source, and he was ridiculed in the scientific community. Árnason was disappoint- ed, but refused to give up. He was heartened by the fact that Iceland had already undergone two energy revolutions in the 20th century. First, the country’s immense hydroelectric resources were tapped to pro- duce electricity. Then, in the 1940s, geothermal water supplies were appropriated to provide the heating needs for all of the homes in Reykjavík — the capital city — as well as to produce a significant portion of the country’s electricity. Árnason is confident that hydro- gen will spark the third energy revolution in Iceland’s recent history. Why hydrogen? In a word, unlike petroleum, hydrogen is a clean and unlimited fuel. And Iceland can use its already-developed and practically pollution- free hydroelectric and geothermal energy resources to produce it. Most outside observers agree that Iceland is a uniquely well-qualified contender for this hydrogen experiment. The country has a relatively small popula- tion (280,000) — mostly concentrated in the southwest of the country around the capital, Rekyavík — that is well educated (100-percent literacy). Also, Iceland has higher per capita car ownership than any other country in the world. Moreover, Icelanders are typically very environmentally conscious, as the country’s successful recycling programs and clean air and water suggest. The absence of a domestic fossil fuel industry is also benefi- cial, as there is no pressure from domestic business or F O C U S O N W O R L D E N E R G Y I I CELAND : P IONEERING THE H YDROGEN E CONOMY I CELAND HAS UNDERTAKEN AN EXPERIMENT THAT , IF SUCCESSFUL , WILL MAKE IT THE WORLD ’ S FIRST HYDROGEN ECONOMY BY THE YEAR 2050. B Y Á SGEIR S IGFÚSSON