India’s first H-CNG station at DTC depot in Delhi is here, thanks to these 2 PSUs

New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) are setting up a 4-tonnes-per-day compact reformer-based H-CNG station at Delhi Transport Corporation's (DTC) Depot-1 at Rajghat. Field trials will be conducted on 50 DTC buses using the patented technology developed by Indian Oil's Research and Development Centre, to help reduce emissions and improve fuel economy of the buses.

First semi-commercial station

As per the directive of the Supreme Court of India, Indian Oil and IGL have collaborated to put up this first semi-commercial station as a pilot project for conducting a study on the use of H-CNG fuel in 50 BS-IV compliant CNG buses in Delhi. The station will be commissioned by November 2019 and a performance report will be submitted to the Supreme Court after a trial of six months thereafter. Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has been authorised to monitor the trials by the apex court.

The foundation stone for the H-CNG station was laid by Dr Bhure Lal, Chairman, Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority, on Friday in the presence of Sanjiv Singh, Indian Oil Chairman, Sunita Narain, Member, Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority; Dr SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D), Indian Oil, Gajendra Singh, IGL Chairman, ES Ranganathan, IGL MD, and Manoj Kumar, DTC Chairman, an official release said.

Move aimed at addressing air pollution

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Bhure Lal shared his concerns over the rapidly degrading air quality and said, "We have already come face-to-face with water crisis; let's resolve to improve the air we breathe so that the generations ahead can enjoy health and happiness." Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, Indian Oil, Sanjiv Singh, said, "It is for the first time that we are producing Hydrogen through this patented process. We are standing at the cusp of a breakthrough, with this Hydrogen-based technology offering a tailor-made solution to deal with air pollution in our cities. We intend to scale-up after initial trials and extend this technology to even older vehicles."

'Dawn of a Hydrogen-based economy'

Sunita Narain, Member, Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority, complimented IndianOil on developing the unique technology in-house. Terming it a momentous occasion, she said, "We are witnessing the dawn of a Hydrogen-based economy. The initiative will go a long way in not only reducing air pollution but will also contribute towards achieving energy security."

What is H-CNG?

Hydrogen-spiked CNG (or H-CNG), when used in an engine in place of CNG, results in cleaner combustion, thereby reducing emissions and improving fuel economy. H-CNG, produced from natural gas through Indian Oil's patented Compact Reformer technology, when tested at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), resulted in 70 percent reduction of carbon monoxide and 25 percent reduction in hydrocarbon emissions as compared to baseline CNG. It is estimated that the compact reforming process will be 30 percent more cost-effective compared to physical blending of Hydrogen in CNG for deriving the same benefits. 

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