Indian Oil Corporation braces for a green future
New Delhi   18-Jan-2018



Wary of being left behind in the emerging energy market, which will rely on renewable sources of energy that are cleaner, safer and inexhaustible, Indian Oil Corporation has drawn up big plans for manufacturing and retailing lithium-ion batteries for use in future electric vehicles and power generating stations.

As part of the initiative, India's largest state-owned refiner has signed two pacts with visiting Israeli firms for research & development (R&D) and manufacturing of green storage products. The first pact, with Phinergy Ltd, is for cooperation in metal-air batteries while the second is with Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd for concentrated solar thermal technologies.

The new initiatives are aimed at strengthening the company's green portfolio, which could come handy when the country switches from fossil fuels and have a transport system dominated by electric run vehicles. The government's vision is to achieve 100 per cent electric mobility by 2030.

“The company (IOC) is gearing for the rapid changes in the energy landscape. It is foreseeing that growth in fossil fuel consumption will start going down, giving way to increased demand for cleaner and inexhaustible renewable energy sources. In such a scenario, we cannot afford to focus just on hydrocarbon opportunities,” said an IOC official, not willing to be named.

IOC's joint initiative with Phinergy envisages joint R&D, deployment and manufacturing activities in the area of metal-air batteries for an array of applications, as stationary energy storage systems, electric mobility solutions and others. Similarly, its letter of intent with Yeda Research and Development Co intends to encourage joint research activities in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies, including concentrated solar power generation, solar fuels, solar thermal storage materials, technologies, systems and concepts.

IOC has already taken major strides in renewable energy adoption when it shifted most of its 24,000 fuel retail outlets to solar power.

It has also decided to set up battery charging stations and battery replacement facilities for electric vehicles at its pumps.

The company has explored use of hydrogen to provide a clean and reliable source of energy. In coordination with vehicle manufacturers, the company will take up lab-scale development of H-CNG engines that could be used for mobility.

It also plans to develop hydrogen-powered three-wheeler and bus engines in association with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) and look at conversion of CNG three-wheelers and buses to H-CNG mixture and development of hydrogen conversion kits for portable gensets.

The centre is pushing solar and wind energy as well as electric vehicles, to curb oil imports and pollution, and meet its commitments under the Paris accord on climate change. Under the accord, India pledged to reduce carbon emissions relative to its gross domestic product by 33-35 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

India also pledged that by 2030, 40 per cent of the country's electricity would come from non-fossil fuel-based sources such as wind and solar power. This would mean that use of fossil fuel based operations would see a decline.

Not only IOC but other state-owned oil marketing firms like Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan petroleum Corporation (HPCL) are also making plans for a major push into the renewable space.

In fact, BPCL has projected that 5 per cent of its revenue would come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2021-22. The company has also started solarising its retail outlets. It is also planning for research on battery technology and setting up charging stations.

HPCL is strengthening its presence in natural gas and renewables. It is already operating wind farms and would take a call to support electric-based eco-system later.