04 Sept 2009;economictimes.indiatimes.com:Sushmi Dey:NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corp (IOC) plans to introduce in 2010 hydrogen-mixed CNG that will improve energy efficiency of vehicles by 15% and reduce emissions by 30%, a company official said. The country’s largest auto fuel retailer is in talks with the Delhi government for a fuel-dispensing network for the new fuel mix, called Hythane, in the national Capital, Anand Kumar, director for research and development at IOC, told ET. The blended fuel will have a hydrogen content of 17-18% and cost 30% more than CNG in Delhi. IOC is in talks with automakers such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra and Eicher Motors for Hythane-compatible vehicles to facilitate launch of the fuel in Delhi during the Commonwealth Games next year, he added. The company’s research department has tested the fuel on three-wheelers, which could be used to ferry passengers during the Games. “With 17-18% hydrogen content, there will be no need for a change in the compressed cylinders that store fuel in CNG-run vehicles,” he said. However, existing engines cannot be modified to run on Hythane. Hydrogen-mixed fuel requires new engines that will lead to a long adoption curve. CNG, on the other hand, found many early converters as existing petrol and diesel engines could be modified to run alternately on the gas-based fuel. “Hydrogen is a freedom fuel that holds the promise to provide clean, reliable and sustainable energy supply for meeting the growing energy needs of transportation. However, we have to make it cost-competitive and this is where research has to play a role,” said IOC chairman Sarthak Behuria. In all new energy resources, hydrogen is considered to have the best prospects of application. Japan is one of the first countries to see potential in hydrogen energy and take up studies on its usage as a fuel. According to estimates, the industrialised world has increased investment in developing hydrogen energy by at least 20.5% every year in the last five years. On its part, IOC has spent over Rs 35 crore on research to ascertain the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel. The company will spend Rs 200 crore annually to optimise the use of hydrogen blended with other fuels, he said. IOC already has fuel pumps dispensing Hythane in the Capital’s Dwarka sub-city and Faridabad, and plans to build another fuel station near Asiad Village in Delhi. While hydrogen is a zero-carbon fuel, it is important to understand the energy balance while using it, said Vivek Chattopadhyay, senior researcher at the Centre for Science and Environment.
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