New Delhi: In the presence of the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan, and the Minister of Energy of Israel, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Indian Oil Corporation Limited entered into a collaboration with Phinergy, an Israeli start-up company specialising in hybrid lithium-ion and aluminium-air/zinc-air battery systems, to form IOC Phinergy Private Limited on Wednesday. The joint venture will manufacture Aluminum-Air systems in India to boost India's flagship programme, Make in India, and recycle used aluminum to strengthen India's energy security.
The new Indo-Israeli JV also intends to develop fuel cells and indigenous hydrogen storage solutions for promoting green mobility. In a significant boost to India's pursuit of e-mobility, two of the leading automotive manufactures in India — Maruti Suzuki and Ashok Leyland — signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the newly incorporated JV IOC Phinergy Limited.
Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director (Corporate Strategy) at Indian Oil, has been named as the Chairman of the newly formed joint venture.
Speaking on occasion, Pradhan said that the fruition of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resulted in this joint venture being launched today. He said that the joint venture will help India in its journey towards clean, sustainable, affordable, safe and long-lasting energy options and facilitate much faster adoption of e-vehicles in the country.
Pradhan said that energy is integral to support the fast-growing Indian economy and its ambitions. "Our energy sector will be growth-centric, industry-friendly and environment conscious. We have the onerous task of ensuring ample access to energy to improve the lives of Indians coupled with the need to have a smaller carbon footprint. In this scenario, this 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 the contribution of electricity to decarbonise mobility."
The minister said that based on domestically available Aluminum, the joint venture plans to manufacture Aluminum-Air systems in India, which will provide a boost to India's flagship programme, Make in India, and at the same time, recycling of used Aluminum will help India in becoming 'Aatmanirbhar' for energy requirements. Pradhan urged the Indian industry, primarily the automotive manufacturers, to extend all necessary support to the joint venture for commercialising the Aluminum-Air technology.
Minister of Energy of Israel, Dr. Yuval Steinitz lauded the initiative, saying that this is indicative of increasingly close cooperation between the two countries.
Petroleum Secretary Tarun Kapoor said that India's energy demand is going to increase at a faster pace compared to the world, and the country is looking for a breakthrough in storage technology-batteries that are compact, cheaper, lighter and have higher energy density. He described today's initiative as pathbreaking. Pradhan also launched the logo of the new company.
Sharing perspectives of Indian Oil, Chairman SM Vaidya said, "With one of the most extensive customer interfaces in the country, Indian Oil has been working continuously to improve customer's experience and provide solutions for all kinds of energy needs. The JV between Indian Oil and Phinergy for commercialising Aluminum-Air technology is an important initiative towards technology-driven energy transition. Al-Air technology will help us overcome most of the current challenges for e-vehicles and address most of the potential customers' pain-points, including range anxiety, higher cost of purchase, and safety issues. This technology will also boost India's existing aluminium industry and help the nation become self-reliant in the energy field and promote the 'Make in India' drive."
Delivering the welcome address, Dr SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D) at Indian Oil, spoke about the game-changing technology of metal-air battery which would define a new e-mobility paradigm in the Indian context.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)