Tata Motors debuts new biomethane engines

© Tata MotorsNatural gas is already one of the most popular alternative fuels in India. Its renewable counterpart should help cement its current position

Tata Motors is one of India's pioneers as far as developing and supplying CNG-powered vehicles is concerned – the company has had cars, trucks and buses running on compressed methane on offer for nearly two decades. During this time Tata introduced several technologies to boost their CNG engines' performance and vehicle safety, including: sequential natural gas injection, cylinder deactivation, individual ignition coils, long-life spark plugs and longer oil replacement intervals.

The latest biomethane-powered bus was unveiled during the Urja Utsav event held by the Ministry for Oil and Natural Gas in the city of Pune. Present were minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal, responsible for India's renewable energy policy. Tata Motors' engineers have developed biomethane-fueled engines (5,7 SGI and 3,8 SGI) for light- and medium-duty bus applications. The event in Pune was an opportunity to demonstrate the former unit on a Tata LPO 1613 bus. It is used daily in Pune's public transport.

Tata Motors has been at the fore front in pioneering latest technologies and providing smart city solutions in the commercial vehicle industry. We are delighted to present yet another product with innovation in alternate fuel technologies, to cater to the need for a greener country. The use of Bio-CNG will contribute in a positive manner to the Smart Cities proposition of keeping them clean and is a good option for wet garbage management.

Girish Waugh, Head, Commercial Vehicles Business, Tata Motors

The showcase of the Bio-Methane bus is a step towards developing environment friendly vehicles. Bio-methane is produced out of bio-degradable materials like kitchen waste. This gas, which gets produced out of natural degradation process, escapes into the atmosphere unused. However, if this is trapped and used in engines, it reduces the net impact on environment and at the same time produces useful power.

Rajendra Petkar, Head- Power System, Engineering, Tata Motors