Iceland: the country with more geothermal energy than it knows what to do with. Drilling 2000m below ground allows access to steam produced by the island’s 130 volcanoes, providing an infinite supply of free, green electricity. With the emergence of electric vehicles, one might expect the nation to have jumped on the bandwagon. Not so – according to a Reykjavik newspaper, there are exactly eleven eV cars in all of Iceland.

When I first read this I was shocked and somewhat infuriated: at this point in time, how can such waste be justified? Unfortunately, it turns out that Iceland may not be the best place for the vehicles of the future. Much of the country’s roads are unpaved, being better suited to thirsty SUVs. Furthermore, cold temperatures would have a devastating impact on the vehicles’ battery life, drastically reducing range; also, most of the cell’s energy would be expended in maintaining cabin temperature.

Looking to the future, Iceland’s scientists are currently testing CarbFix, a process that separates CO2 from volcanic steam and pumps it back underground to form limestone. While unrelated to the issue of electric vehicles, if successful the experiment could be a viable method of sequestering carbon, a vital part of the fight against climate change.

To read more, see The Globe & Mail and Inhabitat on CarbFix.