Today was our final day at Reykjavik University. We had spent the entire time learning about the different designs, thermal kinetics and implementations of geothermal energy plants, as well as the different designs of hydropower turbines. It was finally time to present our capstone projects before the panel of judges and bring together all the data we had collected. My group specifically focused on diversifying the energy economy in Iceland and making it more sustainable by using byproducts of an already existing industry as the energy source for a new industry in order to minimize waste. Iceland has a very predominant chlor alkali industry that by-produces huge amounts of hydrogen. We suggested that recycling this hydrogen for usage in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as a source of “gas” would be an excellent way of minimizing waste and integrating a new and sustainable energy source in Iceland’s economy. Being that most of the emissions in Iceland come from the use of petroleum and diesel engines, we hope to reduce those emissions by substituting the public transportation buses with hydrogen fuel cell buses for a cleaner transportation system, and eventually introducing private hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Iceland for individuals that drive cars. This idea immediately sparked an interest in the judges as we were being asked to predict how this will benefit other countries and other economies as well. After the presentation was over, we took our final examination and successfully completed the classes at Reykjavik University. Afterwards, we visited our last hydropower plant about 10 minutes away from the University and then headed straight to one of the best ice cream spots in town!
