Students unveil vehicle based on water fuel

KOCHI: Creating a revolution in automobile engineering, a group of students (Dimbla Brothers) of Matha College of Technology, North Paravoor, ran a vehicle on water fuel successfully on the campus on Tuesday.This is a modernised hydrogen fuel concept wherein water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis using the vehicle battery. The hydrogen is burned in the engine and oxygen aids it. It can also be used on dual fuel mode.Naming it H-bang technology, giving hydrogen its due, they also developed a four-wheeler based on a quad bike and called it ‘Quadster.’ “This is a dream come true for us. We use 225 cc motorbikes and the fuel eats up all our pocket money. So, we thought of devising a cheaper fuel. When Mahindra launched a hydrogen-powered auto, we thought of working on water which has a lot of hydrogen. But the light gas is highly inflammable and explosive and difficult to store. So we thought of onboard generation where hydrogen is burned in the engine as an when it is produced put a backstroke prevention in place,” said Jewel.The modified tubular frame has an independent suspension in front and disc brake at the back. Proving good speed and control, the Quadster ran almost 200 km with a litre of water on duel fuel mode. Ordinary petrol and diesel engines can save around 60 per cent of fuel by using H-bang technology, they said. In addition, it is pollution-free.Jewel Jacob, Sajith T S, Arun Mohan, Fabin Francis, Aby Paul and Aneesh Davis, who are always together on the campus are known as Dimbla Brothers (relationship beyond friendship). They were guided by Prof Jose K Jacob, Head of the Department, and faculty members Prof E K Mathai, Jinesh and Kannan. The team took almost a month to develop the vehicle. They invested Rs 40,000 on the technology.“More than Rs 1 lakh is required to develop the prototype. If done, it will be a blessing for the common man. The students have been working on it for the past six months,” said Prof Jinesh. “We have applied for patent and hope to develop it further,” said Dimbla Brothers.