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Considering the bleak scenario of rising fossil fuel prices coupled with limited availability and environmental degradation caused by conventional fuels, it is not surprising that the world has turned its attention to use of alternative fuels. The ever increasing demand for ecologically friendly vehicles can only be met by use of ultra clean fuels like CNG and Hydrogen. Traditionally CNG vehicles have been developed in India in variety of segments and have contributed to cleaning the ambient conditions of cities like Delhi. However the persistent NOx levels are becoming a hotly debated issue. One of the solutions to this crisis is the addition of Hydrogen to CNG. The Hydrogen + CNG fuel referred to as HCNG has the potential to lower emissions including NOx as compared to CNG and is considered to be the first step towards promotion of a Hydrogen economy.

The world is facing a twin crisis of environmental degradation and fossil fuel depletion. Alternative fuels are seems to be a promising solution for low exhaust emissions. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a prominent alternative fuel with well developed distributed infrastructure and increasing number of Gasoline engines are now being converted to run on LPG considering the fuel economy and low exhaust emissions. This paper describes the bi-fuel (LPG/Gasoline) concept on a single cylinder engine. Air cooled Direct Injection (DI) diesel engine converted to operate on gasoline engine with electronic ignition system and it is having feature to change the spark ignition timing w.r.t. speed. The compression ratio was also reduced suitable to SI operation. CFD analysis was performed to review and subsequently to increase the cooling capacity of the engine.

The rising demand for cleaner vehicles considering the upcoming stringent emission norms like Euro-IV has promoted development of CNG vehicles. The need for expensive after treatment technologies has imposed constraints on Euro-IV Gasoline and Diesel engine development. On the contrary CNG engines have easily met Euro-III norms with Carburetion technology and Euro-IV and beyond norms with Injection technology. CNG has proved to be a clean and environmentally friendly fuel, significantly improving the ambient air quality of cities. The addition of Hydrogen to CNG has potential to even lower the CNG emissions and is considered to be the first step towards promotion of a Hydrogen economy. Worldwide experts have described Hydrogen as the cleanliest fuel for IC Engines [1, 2 and 3]. Hythane is the patented blend of 15% of Hydrogen in CNG by Energy content. HCNG is the blend of Hydrogen and CNG in varying proportions.

Environmental degradation is on the rise due to the increased motor vehicle population. One of the strategies adopted to curb deteriorating environmental quality is the use of alternative fuels like Ethanol, Compressed natural gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Natural gas is the world's most plentiful combustible fuel, abundantly available in all the continents. This naturally occurring fuel requires little or no treatment prior to use as compared to liquid petroleum products. Natural gas is also the lowest costing fuel. The use of CNG as an automotive-fuel results in significant reduction in the level of vehicular pollutants CO, HC, NOx, SOx, Pb and PM [1, 2, 3 and 4]. Additionally, the use of CNG results in reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2), owing to the lower Carbon-to-Hydrogen ratio of the methane (CH4), as compared to other hydrocarbon fuels [5, 6 and 7].

With ever-increasing concern for the occupant safety, it is desirable that the design of truck cab should meet the safety requirements specified in ECE R-29. The cab must be designed in such a way that, sufficient survival space to be guaranteed in the event of accident for the safety of the driver and co-driver. It was found that there are some areas, which are not covered by the standard or the standard is not very clear. This paper discusses about the practical problems incurred during implementation of the standard in Indian scenario and also suggests possible practical solutions.

Present day technology is continuously being upgraded in order to meet demand for cleaner vehicles by meeting stringent emission norms. The other driving force is vehicle performance in terms of drivability, fuel economy and comfort. Gasoline engine meets all the requirements except fuel economy, where in diesel engine has an advantage. The need of the hour is to achieve drivability, comfort and fuel economy of diesel engine. Apart from development of direct injection common rail and hybrid electric vehicle, this need has also caused development of gaseous fuels like LPG. The gaseous fuel could be CNG, LPG or Hydrogen depending upon the availability. This will also help in delay of depletion of fossil fuel reserves. Main features of this technology are its cost effective operation, modular nature and adaptation on old generation of vehicles.

New technological advancements are driven by the need to fulfil the long-standing human aspirations. Today's scenario is witnessing the spate of vehicles, majority of them are 2-stroke engine powered, plying on Indian roads leading to carcinogenic exhaust emissions. This is severely affecting the ambient air quality. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has designed and developed a novel system, called pumpless lubrication system, to meet the lubrication requirement of 2-stroke engine in an effort to curb pollution. Uniqueness of the system lies in its simplicity, optimum oil supply, lower emissions, cost effectiveness and easy retrofitability etc. The aim of this system is to provide low cost solution to the emissions from 2-stroke engined vehicles. This system can be used for vehicle operating on liquid as well as gaseous fuels. System fitted on engine has been optimised in terms of oil consumption, emissions, etc.

An experimental study was conducted on a carburetted 2-stroke gasoline, 3-wheeler engine for operating on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in bi-fuel mode and further to run on dedicated CNG. Work involved design and development of a gas-air mixer for CNG, pumpless lubrication system for engine, cylinder heads for higher compression ratio, etc. Moreover, the studies for optimising the spark timing for improving CNG engine performance and effect of higher compression ratio on CNG emission, BSFC, etc. was conducted. Performance tests regarding power, BSFC, emission, etc. were conducted on baseline gasoline, bi-fuel CNG and dedicated CNG mode. Engine test bed results show that, on bi-fuel mode power loss is around 14 to 19%, which can be reduced to 5 to 10% in dedicated mode.