The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has notified hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (H-CNG) as an automobile fuel. The development comes in light of MoRTH’s efforts to promote the use of an alternative clean-fuel for transportation. Using H-CNG (18 per cent mix of hydrogen) has a no. of benefits including lower emissions and 70 per cent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions.
According to a report released by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority in 2018, H-CNG can be set up in different locations such as petrol pumps or bus depots. One of the most promising aspects of H-CNG is that it allows for the utilisation of the existing infrastructure of CNG buses, piping network and dispensing stations. Hence, besides promoting the transition towards a hydrogen economy, H-CNG can be seen as the next-gen CNG for cleaner air as well.
Meanwhile, the Automotive Research Association of India and Indian Oil Corporation Limited have carried out tests on six CNG heavy-duty engines using H-CNG. It was found that the engine passed the endurance tests and reported improvement in performance, besides showing no visible issues.