HYDRO DEVELOPS ENERGY OF THE FUTURE
06 March 2003 - Hydro Aluminium

The filling station will be set up in Reykjavik, Iceland, and will be ready for use on 24 April. The Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications Torhild Skogsholm was in Fredrikstad today in connection with the preparation of the filling station for shipment to Iceland. She announced that the Ministry of Transport and Communications has appointed a group of experts to look into the use of hydrogen in the Norwegian transport sector. Elisabet Fjermestad Hagen from Hydro Energy will lead this group. Hagen is responsible for the business development of hydrogen as energy carrier.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications expert group shall submit its recommendations during the first quarter of 2004. Among the group’s tasks is to study how Norway best can contribute to the international development of zero-emissions technology within the transport sector. The expert group shall particularly look at the use of hydrogen in road transport. The group shall also provide an overview of Norwegian research and development activities relating to the use of hydrogen as a fuel in the transport sector.

The hydrogen station that Hydro will deliver to Reykjavik is the first result of the international joint venture, Icelandic New Energy Ltd, where Norsk Hydro has a 16.3 percent interest. This company’s aim is to study the possibilities for replacing fossil fuels and developing the first ”hydrogen economy” in the world. This is in line with the aim of the Icelandic authorities to base all their energy production on renewable sources by 2030.

The filling station has been produced in connection with the EU-supported ECTOS project, and will be built in collaboration with Shell in Iceland. The station will use Norsk Hydro’s hydrogen technology, including an electrolyser, a compressor and a direct vehicle filling system. The ECTOS project includes three hydrogen-run buses built by DaimlerChrysler, which will serve normal routes in Reykjavik for two years. There are 11 partners in the project and its total cost will be around EUR 7 million.

The electrolyser that produces the hydrogen is manufactured by Norsk Hydro Electrolysers, which has 75 years experience within this field. Norsk Hydro Electrolysers, located in Notodden, has now started production of a second hydrogen filling station that will be delivered to Hamburg in May this year.

The electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen by means of electricity (electrolysis). The only emission from hydrogen used as fuel is water.

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