The world’s large second largest country, and second fastest growing economy, India, is addresing the challenge of alternative fuels and hyrbid technology. Considering there are well over 1 billion people in India, this is a good thing for the future of both.

After ethanol, next focus is hybrid cars

NEW DELHI: With the government’s alternate fuel programme for doping petrol with ethanol set to go national from November 1, experts feel that the next stage will be to make alternate fuels and hybrid technology for automobiles commercially viable.

Regulations are in place, and automobile companies and engine manufacturers have to immediately begin to modify the internal combustion engine to make it more effecienct and envirnmentally friendly.

As far as automobiles are concerned, 5% blending of both petrol and diesel with ethanol does not require any change in vehicle engines. Beyond that level, though, automobile companies in India have to modify engines. They have, by and large, expressed their inability to invest in hybrids vehicles that improve fuel efficiency, citing the government’s apathy towards such technologies.

Hybrid vehicles run on more than one fuel simultaneously, with one engine mostly comprising electrical batteries.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is making some efforts to lead the way in alternate fuels. It has signed a technology transfer agreement with its German counterpart VDA for developing alternate fuel-powered vehicles such as hybrids

To read the full article, click here.