For his brilliant innovation
( producing hydrogen / electricity from a Water Electrolysis Contrivance ) to
power Electric Vehicles , I have urged Shri Nitin Gadkariji to send congratulatory email
to :
Dr Subramanyan Vasudevan [
CECRI ]
After reading about this
GAME-CHANGING innovation , you may also want to do the same With all the "
berating " taking place these days, let us celebrate our Scientists !
Ray , a drop of golden Sun
-------------------------------
This
is how Julie Andrew sang in film, “ Sound of Music “ :
… Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long way to run……..
In Hindu legends, Sun was also referred to as “
Vasu “
Dr
Subramanyan Vasudevan , Senior Principle
Scientist at CECRI is out to harness the power of Sun to produce large
quantities of Hydrogen from Water – and do it safely – and on location !
Then
push this Hydrogen into fuel cells that generate electricity and ( back to some
) water
Electricity
to power Electric vehicles
He
and his team has come up with a contrivance that marries solar panels to
electrolysis equipment so as to produce hydrogen using a Proton Exchange
Membrane in water electrolysis
For
full report , read :
Dr
Vasudevan may have “ a long way to
run “ till we see solar
panels mounted on roof-tops of cars, producing hydrogen – and electricity - from “ Water
Electrolysis Contrivance “ located under the hood , and driving small electric
motors
A contrivance which would require occasional
filling up with water ( from “ Water Filling Stations “ – Piyawas /
Parabs of old times )
A holy grail ?
Without doubt , considering that skies are filled with Sunlight and
abundant water on earth contains 11.19 % hydrogen !
Dr Vasudevan adds :
“Water
electrolysis by PEM concept is the most suited process for onsite production of hydrogen,
because of its simplicity of operation and maintenance, compactness, absence of
corrosive liquids and purity of hydrogen
The source of electricity is solar panels. You
need 5 kWhr of electricity to produce one cubic metre of hydrogen in an hour,
and half a cubic metre of oxygen, at atmospheric pressure. Both gases are of
99.99 per cent purity and the oxygen can be used in hospitals
The device costs around ₹1 lakh, but that is because the anode and cathode are made of
iridium and platinum respectively. Now CECRI is trying out different materials
for the electrodes to make it less expensive. The electricity, of course, is free once the cost of the
solar panels is paid for. “
CONTEXT :
· Government is budgeting Rs 5,500 Cr by way of subsidies for Electric Vehicles under FAME 2 ( Rs 25K for 2
wheelers / Rs 40K for 3 wheelers / Rs 50K for 4 wheelers )
· Current designs of EVs will need a huge outlay on creating a Battery Charging Infra
· Lithium for batteries has to be imported ( a dangerous dependence )
· FAME 2 proposes CESS on vehicles driven by
petrol/diesel engines ( Rs 500-25000 )
· Disposal of Lithium batteries is a hazardous process ( might cause more pollution ? )
· Battery Charging Stations will use Electricity
produced in coal-based power plants , hence we will be only transferring the pollution from exhaust pipes to chimneys !
· As far back as May 2017 , ISRO demonstrated a
OMNI station wagon , fitted with solar panels on its roof-top and generating
enough electricity to drive the motors . Nothing more is heard since then about
this break-through !
As it seems
to have happened in case of ISRO , will vested interests ensure that Dr
Vasudevan’s innovation too , is given a secret burial ?
=====================================================
Dear Shri Nitin Gadkariji,
If we fail to encourage our brilliant
Scientists ( through public recognition and handsome grants for commercializing
their innovations ) , then we have a bleak future !
I urge you to send a congratulatory email to Dr
Subramanyan , at :
========================================================
19 Feb 2019
Rsvp : hcp@RecruitGuru.com
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