The Foreign Service Journal, December 2003

gen competitively priced. Storage will also present some difficulty. Some people have night- marish visions of the Hindenburg whenever hydrogen is mentioned, but the storage issue is less about safety than about size and form. There are ongoing debates about whether fuel cells should be powered by hydrogen in a gaseous or liquefied state. The former is more energy- efficient but also more difficult to handle. The latter is more amenable to mass consumption, but requires an impractically large storage tank. German automaker BMW is forging ahead with fuel tanks for liquid hydro- gen, while most others have decided to use gaseous hydrogen. A larger-scale problem — literally — is the question of how to store hydrogen on ships that often spend weeks at sea. It is not economical to outfit these vessels with enormous storage tanks. Some have suggested that storing the hydrogen in methanol will prove to be the ideal solution. Scientists will have to resolve these issues for a functional hydrogen economy to emerge. Price may also be prohibitive in the early stages. The DaimlerChrysler buses introduced in Reykjavík carry a price tag of about $1.1 million each, equal to the price of four to five traditional diesel buses. Increased hydro- gen production will inevitably lower these prices, but this economic barrier has prevented larger countries and regions from embarking on a full “hydrogenization” of their own. Iceland’s government has done its share to offset costs: The parliament passed a bill exempting zero-emission vehicles from road taxes. Worldwide Interest As Iceland moves forward with its hydrogen plans, other countries have taken a keen interest in the small island nation. According to USA Today , hydrogen sta- tions have recently been opened or are planned in Tokyo, Hamburg, and major cities in the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, Belgium and Sweden. Canada — like Iceland, abundant in hydroelectric energy — has also expressed a strong interest in the new energy process. In September, Iceland and the province of Manitoba signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of hydrogen production and consumption, covering infor- mation, technology, and possible future joint ventures. Representatives of renewable energy and sustainable agriculture interests in Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota also visit- ed Iceland to study the possibility of using hydrogen to solve rural energy problems. California is aggressively advocating hydrogen as a way to resolve the state’s fre- quent energy crises. The E.U.’s ongoing involvement in the development of hydrogen energy has already been noted. The United States is slowly acknowledging the ben- efits of hydrogen. President Bush has requested $1.2 billion in federal funds over five years to support fuel cell research. In November 2001, the Department of Energy published a report that envisioned hydrogen as the energy carrier of choice for future generations of Americans. By 2010, the report suggests, about 12 tril- lion kilowatt-hours will by replaced by hydrogen. By 2030, DOE aims to replace 10 percent of current U.S. energy consumption with hydrogen power. In order to familiarize American consumers with a potential new source of energy, DOE has requested significant funds for education purposes alone. The American automotive industry is also respond- ing. For instance, Ford Motors is developing fuel cell- powered cars. American advocates of hydrogen power point to last August’s power grid failure in the Northeast and Canada as clear evidence of the need for new ener- gy solutions. Entrenched special interests may slow the development of hydrogen as a viable alternative energy source in the U.S., but the first important steps have been taken. At the same time, Iceland is forging ahead with its energy plans. The Icelandic people and the govern- ment are in agreement that this is a wise course to take given the immense potential future benefits. As Iceland’s President, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, told the BBC in 2002: “Iceland is in a way serving as the model of the society of the future — the society which is envi- ronmentally sound; which is based on renewable ener- gy and on a way of life which doesn’t destroy the life or the atmosphere or the biosystem that we have. There’s a lot at stake.” ■ F O C U S D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 65 By 2030 the DOE aims to replace 10 percent of current U.S. energy consumption with hydrogen power.