Hybrid cars key to reduce carbon emission by 20 pc: report

Chennai:

Hybrid and electric vehicles designed on frugal engineering principles could emerge as viable options to reduce carbon emissions by more than 20 per cent, according to a report.

The report ‘Cost-Effective Green Mobility’ jointly prepared by Confederation of Indian Industry and A T Kearney stated that hybrid vehicles could potentially offer a 25 to 40 per cent reduction in carbon emissions while electric vehicles could lead to a 10 to 20 per cent reduction.

The report, which was released during a conference on Automotive Research and Development Trends 2015 here on Friday, stated that the green benefits of electronic vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric (PHEVs) would further improve with greener electricity-generation mix.

“Cost-effectiveness would rely on a breakthrough in battery technology and wider use of frugal engineering principles. Carbon emissions abatement of two to three million tonnes would be possible by 2020 at an annual economic cost of Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 crore. The potential impact beyond 2020 is expected to be much large and there is an urgent need to invest in these technologies today,” the report stated.

Interestingly, hybrids for passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles are being produced globally but their penetration in Indian market is limited due to its high costs. For two-wheelers, hybrid technology is still in a nascent stage and is unlikely to be commercialized till 2020.

The study also suggested a shift from road to rail stating that every ton-km of freight shifted from road to rail would save 45 grams of carbon emission. This would ease congestion as well as emissions, it observed.

The report said over the next eight to 10 years, annual capital investment of rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 crore in metro and monorail infrastructure in major urban centers can absorb 110 to 120 billion passenger per km per year from private transportation. Similarly, investment worth Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,600 crore in urban bus systems and bus rapid transport systems can increase public transport capacity to 50 to 60 billion passenger per km per year.

The report also said that investment of Rs 6,500 crore to rs 7,000 crore per year in intelligent traffic management systems, non-motorised transport and urban road infrastructure can contribute to decongestion of passenger and freight traffic in urban areas.

Box:

Green vehicles:

Hybrid electric vehicles combine two sources of propulsion energy – a consumable fuel such as petrol or diesel and a rechargeable source. Charging can occur in three ways – regenerative braking to capture energy lost during braking, energy from fuel combustion and grid electricity.

Electric vehicles: It use batteries or ultra-capacitors to store energy. Electric vehicles can havbe zero tank to wheel emissions of green house gases. They are being mass produced in India as two-wheeled bikes and scooters.

Fuel cell vehicles: They use hydrogen powered fuel cells to produce electric power for electric motor prpulsion. Fuel cell technology is in its infancy and is not expected to be commercially viable in India till 2020.