Commercial vehicles that travel long routes perhaps have initiated electrifying modestly in a much slower manner than envisioned, due to certain challenges such as battery size, charging infrastructure and long charging times.

In spite of the slow start, India is striving to lead the way in the adoption of electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and e-buses.

It is interesting to note that India’s Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) and Israel's Phinergy plan to commence their initial pilot of aluminium-air batteries soon.

The Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, Hardeep Singh Puri, announced that an IOCL-Phinergy JV had manufactured 100 aluminium plates that will power a 50-seater bus for about 500 km.

He said, “Big revolutions come in small packages! 100 such small aluminium plates in air batteries developed by Phinergy in a JV with Indian Oil Corp will power a 50-seater bus for about 500 km! An initiative under make in India borne out of a JV signed during the Prime Minister’s 2017 Israel tour.”

The IOCL and Phinergy joint venture was formed in 2020 to develop aluminium-air energy systems, including R&D, customisation, manufacturing, assembly, sale, and service of aluminium-air energy systems. India has a large source of aluminium and has well-established technologies for obtaining and recycling it.