The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): Despite the steady growth of the electric vehicles worldwide, the awareness that it is well-nigh impossible to replace over a billion combustion cars with EVs in the foreseeable future is increasing. This is leading to calls for ‘more realism and less ideology in energy policy’.
Many countries around the world lack the political will, public acceptance and financial resources to switch to e-mobility for decades to come, according to Frank Obrist, founder of the Obrist Group, which is one of the world’s leading innovators in the field of sustainable energy and CO2-neutral energy concepts and possesses over 200 patents.
The slow progress in the transformation to carbon-neutral energy is prompting calls for the increased use of environmentally friendly synthetic fuels, known as e-fuels, in combustion cars. Obrist argues: “Ultimately, it’s about the overall carbon footprint, including battery production, power generation, the construction of new infrastructure, the potential scrapping of more than a billion vehicles and the production of synthetic fuels from renewable energy sources – and electromobility performs significantly worse than modern e-fuels in the overall balance.”
Synthetic fuel can be produced on a large scale in the earth’s sunbelt with the help of photovoltaics and converted into methanol. This so-called ‘green methanol’ has two major advantages: firstly, the efficiency of fuel production does not play a significant role because the sun is infinitely available around the equator, and secondly, methanol can be transported via all existing global infrastructures for fossil fuels such as oil.
In a two-stage process, hydrogen is first produced using solar energy and then methanol is produced from hydrogen. The frequently voiced argument against this process that it requires high energy input is invalidated by the fact that the solar energy required for production is available in abundance around the equator. The water required for hydrogen production is obtained from the air in the process; even in deserts, the humidity is sufficient for this.
Ever since the concept was presented at the COP28 world climate conference in Dubai, there has been a lot of interest in it from Asia, Africa and the Arab world. Delegations from several countries, including India, have already visited the company’s headquarter in Lindau in Germany to find out about the feasibility of large-scale methanol production in their countries.
NITI Aayog has a ‘methanol economy’ programme running, which is aimed at reducing India’s oil import bill, greenhouse gas emissions, and converting coal reserves and municipal solid waste into methanol.
Although slightly lower in energy content than petrol and diesel, methanol can replace both these fuels in the transport sector, energy sector, comprising DG sets, boilers, process heating modules, tractors and commercial vehicles and cooking, partially replacing LPG, kerosene and wood charcoal. Blending of 15 percent methanol in diesel can result in at least 15 percent reduction in the import of crude oil and diesel. In addition, this would bring down green house gas emissions by 20 percent, thereby improving the urban air quality.
NITI Aayog estimates that the methanol economy will also create close to 5 million jobs through methanol production and application as well as distribution services. Additionally, Rs 6000 crore can be saved annually by blending 20 percent DME, a derivative of methanol in LPG. This will help the consumer in saving between Rs 50-100 per cylinder. It is believed that methanol stoves can result in at least 20 percent savings for households.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has notified 20 percent DME blending with LPG, and a notification for various blends has already been issued by the ministry of road, transport and highways. Test standards and plans for the M-15 blend are being evolved in consultation with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Automotive Research Association of India and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. In the railway sector, RDSO is working towards blending methanol in the range of 5-20% through direct fuel injection in locomotives.
Asia’s first canister-based methanol cooking fuel programme is already running at a plant of Assam Petrochemicals. After the success of the pilot, the methanol cooking programme has been scaled up to 1,00,000 households in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Manipur.
Five methanol plants based on high ash coal, five DME plants, and one natural gas-based methanol production plant in a joint venture with Israel have been planned to be set up. Three boats and seven cargo vessels are being built by the Cochin Shipyard Limited for Inland Waterways Authority of India to use methanol as a marine fuel. (IPA Service)
By K Raveendran