Trial run of H-CNG powered city buses to begin in Delhi Oct 20

<p id="content">The trial run of Hydrogen-blended CNG (H-CNG) powered city buses will be launched in the national capital next week.</p>
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will formally launch the trial run on Tuesday.

"He will inaugurate a compact reformer plant set up by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IndianOil) at Rajghat Bus Depot-I of the DTC," the Indian Oil Corporation said in a statement on Friday.

"IndianOil's R&D Centre had developed a patented compact reforming process for H-CNG production directly from natural gas. The technology has been successfully proved for its benefits concerning emissions, mileage and durability through extensive studies at a demonstration unit installed at its Faridabad campus."

Besides, the company cited recent studies conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune, which have confirmed that 18 per cent H-CNG as fuel ensures 70 per cent reduction in carbon monoxide and 25 per cent reduction in hydrocarbon emissions in heavy-duty BS-IV engines as compared to baseline CNG, besides increasing fuel economy by 4 to 5 per cent.

"Hon'ble Supreme Court had taken cognizance of IndianOil's patented technology and its likely benefits and had advised IndianOil and the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOP&NG) to conduct trials using 18 per cent H-CNG fuel on 50 buses in Delhi," the statement said.

According to the company, it has set up a semi-commercial plant of 4 tonnes per day capacity at Rajghat Bus Depot-I, along with dispensing infrastructure by Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), for conducting a study on the use of H-CNG fuel in 50 BS-IV compliant CNG buses.

"After the six month trial period, a detailed performance report will be compiled incorporating the fuel economy and emissions data of the trial buses run with CNG and H-CNG fuel mixtures for submission to EPCA/Hon'ble Supreme Court," the statement said.

"In India's quest to promote Hydrogen as a clean fuel for the mobility sector, Hydrogen-blended CNG (H-CNG) is emerging as an excellent interim technology for achieving emissions reduction and import substitution."

The fuel type can be used in existing IC (internal combustion) engines without major modifications in the engine architecture.

In addition, the company said that refuelling of H-CNG blends in vehicles can be achieved with minimum modifications in the infrastructure that is currently under use for dispensing CNG..