Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) and Phinergy, an Israeli start-up company specialising in hybrid lithium-ion and aluminium-air/zinc-air battery systems, on Thursday launched a joint venture, IOC Phinergy Pvt Ltd, to manufacture alternative technologies for development of green mobility solutions.
Based on domestically available aluminum, the joint venture plans to manufacture aluminum-air systems in India. Under this technology, recycled aluminum can be used to will help India in becoming “Aatmanirbhar” for energy requirements of electric vehicles.
The new Indo-Israeli JV also intends to develop fuel cells and indigenous hydrogen storage solutions for promoting green mobility.
This collaboration was initiated during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017, following which, letters of intent were exchanged between the respective companies during the visit of Israeli Prime minister Benchamin Nethanyahu to India in 2018.
In a significant boost to India's pursuit of e-mobility, the two of the leading automotive manufactures in India, Maruti Suzuki and Ashok Leyland, signed letters of intent (LoI) with the newly incorporated JV IOC Phinergy Limited during the ceremony.
Speaking on occasion, minister for petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan mentioned that energy is integral to support our fast-growing Indian economy and its ambitions. He said that the technology to develop indigenous batteries using locally available aluminum fits into the energy vision of India as espoused by Prime Minister Modi, wherein he has given a clear call for increasing contribution of electricity to decarbonise mobility.
In his remarks minister of energy, Israel, Yuval Steinitz, stated that Israel has been looking to provide clean energy to India using technology that is made in Israel. This has been a big dream and the dream is becoming a reality today with the signing of these MoUs.
The collaboration between Indian Oil and Phinenergy marks yet another substantive step towards the collaboration between the two countries in the energy sector, he added.