Devangshu Datta: The search for 'oil-ternatives'

TECHNOBEAT

The US invasion of Iraq has done policy-makers one service. By removing roughly 15 per cent of reserves and production capacity from the global crude oil market, it has precipitated an energy crisis.

The Iraqi supply-disruption may lead to reshaping of energy policy at a time when alternatives can be easily integrated. Circumstances compel India to be an innovator in energy policy-making.

India's energy demands are rising quickly. Despite new finds, India depends on imports for 70 per cent of consumption. It is also an energy-inefficient economy, using two-and-a-half times as much energy per GDP unit as any Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economy.

So what are the alternatives? Alcohol is renewable, it's clean; it's simple to convert fossil fuel generators and internal combustion engines to burn alcohol instead. India has large sugar production capacities, which makes alcohol production easy.

Brazil, which has similar sugar capacities and import-dependencies, has used alcohol-petrol mixes for 30 years. The experiment hasn't been totally successful. Distillation costs are high and alcohol is viable only at crude prices that are some 150 to 200 per cent higher than current levels.

Other alternatives exist. One is vegetable oils "" that is, standard cooking fuel. Another is fuel cell technology on a large scale. A third is conversion of internal combustion engines to work off electric batteries. In all three cases, we could end up with hybrids "" engines and generators that consume a mixture of fossil fuel and something else.

"Biodiesel" is catching on a technology among the global green community. American companies such as Greasecar sell conversion kits (currently retailing from between $500 and $800) that enable diesel engines to run on vegetable oil.

The oil can be harvested from kitchens after it has been used for cooking, filtered through sieves and muslin, and put in a second tank. The engine starts on diesel and then switches over. Mileage is about the same, so is performance. Vegetable oils are non-toxic, biodegradable and have lower particulate emission.

However, they emit higher nitrous oxide; the engine needs more servicing and performance; and engine-life is diminished by around 7 to 10 per cent in the long run.

Users often compromise by using 80:20 mixtures of diesel:veggie oil. The savings are still enormous since the fuel is a waste-product. If it caught on at mass scale, governments would have to rethink tax/tariff structures on fossil fuels.

Cars like the bestselling Toyota Prius have brought hybrid electric-battery/petrol engines to mainstream consciousness. Tom Hanks, Cameron Diaz and Susan Sarandon drive Priuses. Batteries are low-cost recharge and mileage on-road good, if well below official ratings, according to recent studies.

Performance is low, however "" the engine switches to petrol seamlessly when driven at higher speeds or at high acceleration. Also, hybrids are expensive.

For example, the Honda Insight Hybrid costs around $3,000 more (in the US) than its conventional cousin, the Honda Civic. It'll take a lot of driving for breakeven. Even so, Toyota is targeting the sports utility vehicle (SUV) market with a hybrid Highlander and Ford plans to offer an Escape SUV hybrid version.

Fuel cell technology is also close to mass-market. This combines hydrogen-oxygen fuels in an electro-chemical reaction to deliver power. The emission is just plain water. A recent "Fuel Cell Marathon" drive from Norway-Portugal has proved that fuel-cell cars like General Motors' HydroGen3 (an adaption of the Opel Zafira) can comfortably handle 10,000 km journeys.

Beijing has recently bought Daimler fuel-cell buses for its transport corporation. Japanese auto-industry analysts estimate that there will be a global market worth $98 billion for fuel-cell vehicles by 2013.

Even defence services are interested. Lack of emission and low noise makes fuel-cell technology attractive in terms of stealth. Greece has inducted a fuel-cell driven submarine built by HDW (Germany) while the Israeli Air Force has demonstrated fuel-cell powered unmanned air vehicles. Casio is producing a coin-sized fuel-cell battery for laptops for use in "field conditions".

If fuel-cell technology becomes popular, the world will have to build an estimated $21 billion worth of hydrogen manufacturing capacity within the next five years. Iraq suggests this could be the "new, new thing".