Nu Gas Technology (NGT) has brought into the country CNG conversion technology for the replacement of conventional engines with natural gas and claims to be the only one with Type Certificate Approval for conversion of vehicles into CNG from Government of India. The company's technology, imported from Austria, can convert all vehicles-buses, trucks, cars into CNG.

Mr Ramesh Handa, chairman of NGT says: "CNG has several advantages which makes it the most promising fuel in the near future." Claiming that NGT CNG kits are especially designed to suit Indian roads, Mr Handa says, the company has modified the piston and the compression ratio at a level so that the engine doesn't get heated up. ``Thus, the temperature is maintained inside the vehicle," he says. The high compression ratio in other CNG kits contributes to the heating effect in the engine, which has been eliminated in this technology.

Mr Handa says that CNG is not only safe but also doubles the life of the engine. "Unlike other fuels where the lead blocks the head of the petrol and diesel engines and needs to be cleaned after 1 lakh km this problem doesn't exit in a CNG engine and its head remains intact."

The cost of the NGT engine for commercial vehicles is Rs 4 lakh, up from its introductory offer of Rs 3.5 lakh. The hike was effected due to the changing dollar-rupee ratio also because the company has replaced the slow filling valve with a faster one.

NGT provides two kits-the electronic kit for multipoint fuel injection cars and manual kit for carburettor cars. Electronic kit is being used for converting the buses and is a completely computerised kit. Being computerised it automatically decides the right amount of gas that should be released into the engine. Whereas converting a car by manual method costs around Rs 35,000 but by the electronic method it amounts to Rs 45,000.The kit is manufactured by NGV Motori Italy (joint venture partner of NGT).

For conversion about six cylinders each capable of carrying a 16 kg of fuel are fitted in the vehicle along with the kit. A well maintained bus can run an average of 400 km when full. Mr Handa says, " Up to 1 lakh Km there will be no maintenance cost as each of our engine is thoroughly tested on a test bench before it is set up in the vehicle."

With Indonesia, Japan, Iran, USA, Iraq, Australia and many other going 100 per cent on CNG, Mr Handa is confidant to do well as the CNG fuel costs a Rs 11.30 per kg and 1 kg is equivalent to 1.3 litres of diesel/petrol.