Can you tell me something about Vialle's work?
We are working in the field of alternative fuels ranging from cng , lpg , and Dimethylether ( dme ). From a commercial point of view, we are concentrating on lpg and cng .

Which are the best alternatives for Indian conditions?
The most practical solution for India today is to run vehicles on cng or lpg that have substantially lower emissions than petrol and diesel. But optimum results can be obtained only when cng or lpg engines are fitted within the factory. Only then we can reduce emissions.

What do you think about the plan to run CNG buses in Delhi?
Before you can introduce cng in Delhi, one would have to create the infrastructure. The problem is that in Delhi most of these buses are very old and you would have to replace them completely.

What do you think about dual fuel systems?
In dual fuel systems, which are cheaper, you just need to add a little bit of cng and run the bus primarily on diesel. This is because one is always accelerating and decelerating. During these periods, the bus will only run on diesel defeating the entire purpose of reducing emissions. The problem is that all diesel engines leak and if you change them to a mono fuel cng or lpg engine, it could turn out to be very dirty, although not very dangerous.

At the same time, it is not very safe to keep gas very close to an engine. So, you would have to overhaul the whole engine, which could also be costly proposition. We are now testing an old diesel engine from Delhi to see what could happen, you could encounter that the costs are as much as the running cost of a brand new cng engine. In general, for the older type of buses, we have to ensure that we do a safe conversion. For new engines, however, we believe in dedicated monofuel cng or lpg engines.

What are the additional benefits of using alternative fuels?
People have to realise that the use of alternative fuels is not only eco-friendly, but economical too