OIL COMPANIES SET TO LAUNCH HYDROGEN
GAS STATIONS BY 2005
Oil companies
in the country are set to launch the nation’s first Hydrogen gas
dispensing stations in select cities in the next two to three
years, which will serve as a pilot project to prove the efficacy
of Hydrogen gas as a clean and environment-friendly automotive
fuel. An exclusive fleet of two- and three-wheelers, which can
use Hydrogen gas in admixture with CNG (Compressed Natural Gas),
would be another option arising out of this pilot project.
The oil sector road
map for ushering in Hydrogen gas as an alternative fuel in the
country was outlined by the Petroleum Secretary, Shri B.K.Chaturvedi,
at the conclusion of the first major International Workshop on
Hydrogen Energy here on Saturday. Referring to the call given
by Shri Ram Naik, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, earlier
at the workshop to dedicate the current decade for research on
Hydrogen gas, Shri Chaturvedi said that the oil sector, in association
with leading automobile manufacturers and research institutes
in India and abroad, would chalk out programmes for taking up
a few projects to demonstrate the use of Hydrogen initially in
a few applications like three-wheelers and portable gensets. The
challenging task is to put on the road at least a thousand two-
and three-wheelers running on Hydrogen gas by the year 2005, and
then move forward to extend its use to light commercial vehicles
in the next five years. By 2010, we should aim at having the largest
fleet of vehicles operating on Hydrogen gas in India, he said.
Describing Hydrogen
as another energy revolution in the making, Shri Chaturvedi said
that the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has proposed
that the major oil & gas companies in India, which already
have the necessary experience, should form a consortium and create
a corpus fund for Hydrogen research in the country.
As part of this,
IndianOil's Research & Development Centre at Faridabad, which
has been made the nodal agency, is establishing linkages with
various national and international R&D institutes working
on Hydrogen gas, besides joining some of the ongoing Hydrogen
research programmes. These include a US DOE-sponsored project
for production of Hydrogen by Pure Energy Corporation, USA, and
the CAR Project (Coopertive Automotive Research) initiated in
India. A project proposal from Stuart Energy, Canada, made earlier
to ONGC is also being considered by the Oil Industry Development
Board (OIDB). IndianOil's R&D Centre is also considering associating
itself with an ongoing project on Hydrogen Pathways by an international
consortium led by the Institute of Transport Studies, University
of California, Davis.
Industry efforts
to introduce Hydrogen gas technology on a commercial basis need
the commitment and support of the best brains in the scientific
community in India and abroad, Shri Chaturvedi said. We need several
cost-effective technological breakthroughs to cross the hurdles
in making Hydrogen gas production, storage and distribution commercially
viable in the country, he said.
Focussing on the
technology options available for production of Hydrogen in the
short and long terms, Shri Chaturvedi said that reformation of
natural gas is seen as an economical route in the next 10 to 15
years, while production from biomass could be a long-term alternative
for a country like India. Production of Hydrogen from Naphtha
could be another alternative, especially since the current demand
for Naphtha is likely to go down with increased use of gas by
the industry. In a large country like India, centralised production
of Hydrogen gas may not be viable because of the high transportation
costs likely; instead, it would be worthwhile to transport gas/naphtha
to different parts for onsite conversion to Hydrogen, he said.
Similarly, metal hydrides could be a safe and cost-effective option
for storage and use of Hydrogen, especially in two and three-wheelers
which have limited daily run, he said.
Through the workshop,
IndianOil Chairman, Shri M.S.Ramachandran, invited all industry
members, institutes and individuals involved in research on Hydrogen
to join hands and work together, to quickly reach the benefits
of this clean fuel to the common man. Hydrogen fuel is pollution-free,
with water as end product, converts easily to electricity with
higher efficiencies than combustion processes, and can be used
in a broad range of applications. While initially Hydrogen gas
may be produced from fossil fuels, the ultimate aim will be to
produce it from renewable sources, which will also reduce dependence
on imported fossil fuels, thus providing energy security for the
country, he said.
Stressing IndianOil's
commitment to coordinate Hydrogen research in the country, Shri
Ramachandran said that introduction of Hydrogen gas will further
expand the basket of alternative fuels such as CNG, Autogas (LPG),
ethanol-blended petrol and bio-diesel being made available by
the oil industry in phases in order to reduce dependence on traditional
transport fuels such as petrol and diesel.
Over 350 delegates,
scientists and research scholars from India and abroad attended
the three-day International Workshop organised by Indian Oil Corporation.
