India sees future in hydrogen

The proposed opening of India’s first hydrogen fuel-dispensing station in New Delhi will mark a notable step towards diversifying the energy mix, and contribute to building the country’s energy security. The hydrogen station, built jointly by Indian Oil Corp. and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, will initially dispense a 20:80 mix of hydrogen and compressed natural gas (CNG) to a group of test vehicles already running on CNG. At stake is the future of the national hydrogen energy plan, which aims to run a million vehicles on hydrogen fuel by 2020. Since it is now becoming clear that the alternative fuels scope in India is limited to the use of ethanol and plant-based biofuels, hopes rest on hydrogen as the ideal “clean fuel”. (December 31, 2008)