Government will also establish a National Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Centre in Gurgaon The first hydrogen dispensing station will be established in New Delhi this year as part of the Central government's efforts to develop alternative energy sources, including hydrogen and fuel cells, V.Subramanian, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said here on Friday. Inaugurating a national workshop on Fuel Cell Technology at SRM University in Kattankulathur, Mr. Subramanian, whose speech was read out in absentia by B.M.S. Bist, Adviser to the Ministry, said the dispensing station would be set up by the Indian Oil Corporation. The proposed facility would dispense hydrogen compressed natural gas (H CNG) as part of the Ministry's project. The Ministry had supported a project by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers for introducing a blend of H CNG as fuel (after necessary modifications) in vehicles currently running on CNG. Mr. Subramanian said the government would also establish a National Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Centre in Gurgaon, Haryana. The Centre's National Hydrogen Energy Road Map had proposed setting up power stations with a capacity to produce 1,000 MW of electricity using Hydrogen as fuel by 2020 and also the introduction of one million vehicles with Hydrogen as fuel. "The Ministry would work with academic and research institutions, private sector, engineering manufacturers and industry for this purpose,' Mr. Subramanian said. T.R. Pachamuthu, chancellor of the private university, said they would be introducing an elective course on Fuel Cell Technology from the next academic year (2008-09) for mechanical and chemical engineering students. And to promote research in fuel cell technology, an energy lab would be set up with an investment of $70,000 from Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, that had supported the workshop.
