SMART Sustainable marine and road transport - hydrogen in Iceland

SMART H2 is a demonstration project testing hydrogen fuelled vehicles and vessels. The project will test various types of hydrogen-fuelled company cars and other equipment that runs on hydrogen, including a hydrogen auxiliary power unit for a tour ship. Amongst the car users is the car rental Hertz, so anybody can hire a hydrogen car today.

The project also aims to demonstrate the infrastructure for compressed hydrogen as a self service filling station and develop further the distribution system, for example by organizing and running a small-scale hydrogen transport service. Special emphasis will be put on data collection, that actually extends to other types of fuel and vehicles that are also tested during the same timen period. SMART-H2 began in March 2007 and will extend until 2010. The SMART-H2 will get data feed from methane vehicles, battery -plug in cars, hydrogen vehicles with internal combustion engines and battery hybrids.

 

 

The Elding, our main whale watching boat, is using an Auxiliary Power Unit, i.e. a fuel cell and battery unit that runs on hydrogen. The APU will provide electricity on board for navigation, light and various other modules that run on electricity. The intention is to shut down the main engine when the boat has met with whales out on sea and offer the guests to see and hear the animals move and blow at the surface and to allow an ever closer encounter with the curious animals. A filling device will therefore be designed on the peer where the Elding picks up the whale watching passengers. The main engine will still run on oil but this test is a very important step to test hydrogen technology in marine conditions, which are damp, shaky, wavy and wet. A showroom explaining the main concept will be installed in the hull of the ship.

 

The technological investment and infrastructure in SMART-H2 is entirely funded through VistOrka and the project partners, for example the Icelandic energy companies. Research on the other hand will seek funding from various sources and therefore could grow considerably depending on funding and suggested subjects. The research is cooperation between Icelandic New Energy, who sees to the project coordination and the University of Iceland, department of natural resource management. Already there are 6 students involved in the research, students with background in economy, sociology, engineering, biology and food processing. The research topics touch on fuel consumption, performance, customer attitudes and preferences for all sorts of test vehicles and the relevant filling mechanisms, whether they run on hydrogen, methane, ethanol or battery systems. It is worth emphasizing that the project only reports technical outcomes to the equipment providers but the research is made on the interface between technology and the human factor; the research is on the impacts on society. Also the technical performance of the APU system will give rise to furhter development of such units for the general market. The desing is made by Icelandic Hydrogen and the equipment is classified by Germanishcer Lloyds.

 

The hydrogen station at Grjothals has been announced open to the public after 6 years of safe operation. It is Shell in Iceland and Framtak hf who operate and monitor the station. The drivers of the hydrogen vehicles fill their own cars and therefore clear instructions have been put up on the hydrogen station that demonstrate that if instructions are followed carefully then safety is ensured. At this point it is evident that the customers have much to say about their experience, opinions on the current interphase and which changes they would like to see on the future hydrogen filling stations.

 

Currently there are more than 20 organizations participating in the project, local and international. The main parties involved are providers of materials and technology (cars, other vehicle providers, fuel cell provider, storage tanks, classification and inspection companies, operators and maintenance staff of the hydrogen station, companies that lease vehicles, administrators and regulators).

 

To know more - contact our marketing manager Eva Maria eva@elding.is