Petrol and diesel prices have suddenly started skyrocketing after a freeze for about four years. With this, the high import dependency of the Indian energy sector has again been highlighted. While the Indian government has been taking a multi-pronged approach to reduce its dependency on fuels like petrol and diesel, a Monaco-based fuel technology company has shown a new way that could be a major saviour for the Indian economy as well as the automobile sector, among others.
FOWE Eco Solutions has patented Cavitech fuel emulsion technology, which claims that it can slash fuel consumption by up to 10%, reduce harmful emissions dramatically, and improve equipment performance – without modifying engines. This means your car can actually run on a technology that uses water, instead of pure petrol, and it will reduce the tailpipe emissions significantly, as well as improve performance, without harming the engine and other key components.
What is the water-based fuel technology?
The company claims the patented technology is christened as Cavitech fuel emulsion technology. PTI has quoted the company’s COO Hemant Sondhi saying that at the heart of the system is a fuel-oil-water emulsion created using Controlled Cavitation Technology (CCT), which disperses microscopic water droplets inside fuel oil without using chemical additives. When burned, those water droplets trigger micro-explosions inside combustion chambers of the engine, shattering fuel into ultra-fine particles that burn more completely and efficiently.
The company claims that as a result, the engine burns lower fuel compared to what it does with pure petrol or diesel. This technology results in cleaner combustion and sharply reduces the tailpipe emissions.
FOWE says its cavitation process also reduces the viscosity of heavy fuel oil without expensive cutter stock or chemical flow improvers, potentially freeing up higher-value diesel for sale while lowering pumping and heating costs. The company also claims that the technology can reduce NOx emissions by around 30%, SOx emissions by nearly 40% and particulate matter to near-zero levels.
As of now, the technology claims to have been tested in marine engines, refineries, steel plants, power units, and industrial furnaces, which indicates it could be used in conventional vehicular engines as well.
What makes it particularly attractive for India?
India imports nearly 88% of its crude oil needs, while state-run oil firms are reportedly bleeding ₹1,000 crore a day to shield consumers from global price shocks due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has publicly urged industries to conserve fuel as a national economic priority just a few days ago, and almost immediately after that, petrol and diesel have become pricier by about ₹4 a litre across the country, through two price revisions. CNG, considered as a cleaner fuel compared to petrol and diesel, too received price hikes.
What makes the Cavitech fuel emulsion technology particularly attractive for India’s energy-intensive sectors is that it does not require engine modification or hardware retrofit.
The technology can not merely be a decarbonisation tool, but a strategic economic lever for India as well, helping the country save hugely on foreign exchange.
