The Hindu : Business : Subsidy suggested for developing hydrogen fuel

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Tuesday, Jun 05, 2007
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Subsidy suggested for developing hydrogen fuel

Devise a business model for successful commercialisation, says Ahluwalia

— PHOTO: KAMAL NARANG

FUEL OF THE FUTURE: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, at the hydrogen energy exhibition in New Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI: The Central Government should give subsidy for developing hydrogen fuel to meet the target of one million vehicles driven by the gas by 2020, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said here on Monday.

"The cost of developing hydrogen fuel is high but it can be negated if government can subsidise. However, we need to decide if subsidies should be given on existing applications to increase scale or on research, he said at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conclave. He said hydrogen technology was not economic at present and unless subsidised, the fuel would not to be commercially viable.

"If we recognise that it is a potential resource, there is no harm in using subsidies to jump start it but....it is unlikely to become a plausible solution in energy security if it continued to be subsidised perpetually," Mr. Ahluwalia added.

He said one of the ways could be to leverage on existing research and devise a business model for successful commercialisation of hydrogen fuel technology.

On the occasion, the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Vilas Muttemwar, said the national hydrogen energy roadmap had proposed two major initiatives to develop hydrogen-powered engines and fuel cells-based automobiles from two- and three-wheelers to heavy vehicles.

"The roadmap envisages that by 2020 about one million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, of which about 75 per cent are expected to be two- or three-wheelers and the rest cars, taxis and buses would be plying on Indian roads," Mr. Muttemwar said.

Exuding optimism on the viability of hydrogen fuel, Tata Sons Chairman, Ratan Tata, who chaired the Steering Committee of National Hydrogen Energy Board, said though the technology remained elusive and posed problems in generating, storing and delivering but the "challenges are not insurmountable".

Mr. Tata said Tata Motors was taking part in a major way for the development of alternate fuels. "We use vehicles run on bio-fuel for our employees in our campuses. We are also developing vehicles which are flexi-fuel," he said, adding that in future all petrol vehicles from Tata Motors could have the capability to run on ethanol blended petrol. — PTI

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