Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria have said the petrol industry in Nigeria and many other countries of the world is not immediately threatened following the development of water-fueled cars by an Israeli-based company, Electriq Global. Speaking in separate interviews with New Telegraph over the weekend, they opined that fossil fuel would still be in active demand for the next 20 to 30 years or more.

The stakeholders are: Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Group, Devakumar V. G. Edwin; a former Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, (GPAD) of the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), Ohi Alegbe; and Chief Operating Officer, WNT Capitas, Dotun Ajiboye. Others are: Publisher, Africa Oil+Gas Report, Mr. Toyin Akinosho and Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike.

According to a report by The Moment, Electriq Global developed a proprietary system that efficiently converts water into fuel to power vehicles. It added that their technology extracted hydrogen from water and uses it to generate electricity that propels the car. According to it, this fantastic and positive discovery stands to completely transform the auto industry while also benefiting the environment. It opined that with an estimated 1,000 km range per tank, Electriq’s water-based fuel could soon make petrol obsolete.

The report read: “The waterpowered car technology developed by the Israeli company, Electriq Global, utilises a unique nano-technology that is able to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through a specialized membrane. “This membrane acts like an electrolytic cell, using electricity to break down the water molecules into their composite elements. The hydrogen produced from the reaction is then fed into the vehicle’s fuel cell. “In the fuel cell, the hydrogen combines with oxygen from the air to generate an electric current.

This electricity powers the car’s electric motor, propelling the vehicle. Unlike traditional combustion engines, the only byproduct from this reaction is water, meaning the car emits only clean water vapor rather than any harmful emissions.” It added: “The membrane that splits the water molecules was developed specially by Electriq Global. It contains unique nanomaterials that make the reaction possible using much less electricity than has been needed before.

This breakthrough helps make water-powered cars using hydrogen fuel cells a viable reality. “The truth is that a water car could be the end of petrol and all polluting fuels. We have known for years that hydrogen would play a very important role in the decarbonization of mobility, but not to this extent. Will we soon see it on our roads? Let’s hope so, given its advantages.” The report explained that Electriq Global had built multiple prototypes to test and refine its waterbased fuel technology.

According to it, in 2018, they successfully road-tested a Renault Clio retrofitted to run on the hydrogenon-demand fuel system. It added that the test car achieved speeds over 70 mph and required no engine modifications besides connecting to an external water tank and fuel converter. “Further road tests are planned using a Suzuki Vitara SUV retrofitted with a larger fuel converter and water tank to extend its range,” it said.

Dangote

Edwin said the water-powered vehicles were not an immediate threat to Dangote Refinery. He, however, acknowledged that it was a threat in the long run. He stated that the water-powered vehicles would take a long time before they flood the market and even reach Nigeria in commercial quantity and usage. Edwin said: “Well it is going to be a long term. You can see for example, there are other sources of energy such as renewables. There is solar.

There is another one in Kenya that is being exploited. In India, they have to a large extent, solar powered technology. China has gone to a very large extent. But you can still see that India is expanding its refining capacity. So business is likely to survive for the next 30, 40 years. So we believe that it is not an immediate threat but it is a threat definitely in the long run. You can find that the par capita will continue to drop. But it is not an immediate threat.

Ex-NNPC GPAD

Alegbe said they were not a threat because they will take a long time before they overtake petrol powered or compressed natural gas-enabled vehicles. He, however, accepted that the innovation poses a challenge. He said: “It could pose some challenge to the use of fossil fuel. But it is not exactly. Talking about the challenge it will pose, it is a kind of thing that CNG and electric cars are doing.

So if someone has invented a water powered mobility, then it will eat into the market. “It is not a threat because that is not what will wipe out the oil and gas totally. But it is a challenge because it will eat into the market. May be in 10 to 15 years, it will begin to have effect, if it is true that a company has manufactured a water powered vehicle.”

WNT Capitas

Ajiboye said the invention was only a threat in the future but not currently as he noted that fossil fuel is still in more use. He said: “Definitely it is a threat when you look at the future of the energy industry in terms of sustainability. People are gradually going way from fossil and then there is electric car and water car technology.

“For us, in Nigeria, we have not even exploited our fossil fuel to get energy that we require to power our business and our homes and also to be able to spur industrialisation. We are still struggling with that. When you see the body language of government, you know that they have not done much in terms of achieving that.

Yes, they have signed their part of the agreement in sustainability 2020, 2050 because they have their own agenda. But there is no road map that much is being done because our people still depend on fossil fuel. “The challenge to us will be that after a while, UK has said that there is no more fossil vehicles in their country. A time will come when we will not even get parts to take care of our petrol-powered vehicles. That will be a challenge. But that is still far. Maybe in another 20 or 30 years.

By time, we would have been able to exhaust what we have in terms of the fossil fuel and we have to get the required technology for the new innovations. “The argument is that Europe and Americans have exhausted theirs to develop their countries and they are now saying that we should move away from fossil fuel. But Africa is not prepared for them yet. We need time to transition. “I agree with that. But we also can not continue to rely on that rhetoric. We need to join them and start acting fast.

We are still battling with electric fuel, when it gets to water, we have water at full. It is just to get the technology. But it is not an immediate threat. It will take a while.” For Akinosho, the development is not an immediate threat as according to him, the water-fueled cars will take some years before they hit the international and Nigerian markets. He specifically said that the invention was not a threat to Dangote refinery. He said that from the projection of the management of Dangote refinery, the company would have recouped their investment before the water-fueled car becomes in popular use.

Akinosho said: “It is a threat but not an immediate threat. It is not something that will happen tomorrow. The VP of Dangote say that in 10 years or little bit more, they would have recovered their money. That means that whatever it is that they are getting from this project beyond that is a profit. So if they recover their money in 10 or 11 years, they do not need to worry about the electric or water powered vehicles. “That water-powered vehicles will not be in commercial quantity in the market in the next two to three years.

In the African market, where we are poorer and we do not catch up with technology, how many people will buy them immediate they come to African market? Dangote is not selling to Israelis, he is selling his refined crude products to Nigerians, Kenyans, etc. So it is not a problem for Dangote Refinery. “I do not think that if we are doing the usual refining thing, apart from Dangote that is king, other refineries are refining and they are selling to Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, that they should worry about water vehicles from Israel.

We should not even worry ourselves about an electric vehicle because that is still not our reality. Such a thing happens faster in Europe where they are conscious of new technology and they would do something and take it up as there are people who will take the innovation up.” He added: “I do not think we should worry about it. We are about 230 million Nigerians who will use the diesel and others products from Dangote. They would be fine. “Generally it is not a major threat to fossil fuel but it is a threat. If you have an alternative to fossil such is a threat. But it is not an immediate one.

For the purpose of scenario planning, you tell yourself, okay, in seven years or eight years, this is what will obtain. Petrol will still be a factor. There are also machines, not only cars, that use petrol.” Ukadike said marketers of petrol were not worried over the development. He noted that petrol is not only used by cars, adding that even if the car becomes popular, petrol will still be used by machines and other industrial and home equipment/ appliances. He also said that the marketers will be selling the ‘water’ that will be used by cars when water-powered vehicles become fashionable in Nigeria.

IPMAN

Ukadike said: “I do not think it is a threat to even oil and gas industry in America where you have electric vehicles here and there. It is not a threat to them. Marketers, our counterparts there and other developed countries are also doing their businesses. “Petrol is not only used for vehicles. There are other uses of petrol. I also believe that the innovation (water vehicle) will save Nigeria a lot of money in terms of fuel import subsidy. If water can drive vehicle, it is a welcome development for marketers. Maybe we will start selling water.”

Last Line

“It is not a threat to our business, we are independent marketers. Our job is to market goods and services. So if water now is the trend, we will start selling water,” Ukadike said.

Please follow and like us: