State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Tuesday said it has acquired a minority stake in Israeli battery developer Phinergy Ltd for developing ultra lightweight metal-air batteries that can be used in electric vehicles (EVs). “To start with, IOC has taken a minority equity stake in Phinergy,” the company said in a statement, without giving details about the size of interest or the acquisition cost. Founded in 2008, Phinergy develops an assortment of zero-emission batteries including aluminum-air and zinc-air batteries designed to offer power sources for electric cars.
IOC and Phinergy will form a joint venture in India to collaborate in developing aluminium-air battery system including research & development, customisation, manufacturing, assembly, sell and service of aluminium-air energy systems technology. “The joint venture intends to set up a factory in India to manufacture aluminium-air batteries for electric vehicles and stationary applications and facilitate development of eco-system for Al-Air technology,” the statement said.
