The initiative towards cleaner freight transport in India has received a boost with the signing of a partnership between Energy In Motion (EIM), an affiliate of Ravindra Energy, and Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) to introduce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology to India's electric heavy commercial vehicle market.

Under the Letter of Agreement, EIM will receive 0.5 gigawatt-hours of CATL's next-generation CB7T0 LFP cells and L324D06 battery pack kits, which offer higher cycle life and energy density compared with previous models. The 400.6 kWh systems will be integrated into battery boxes that are easy to swap and designed to withstand India's high ambient temperatures, ensuring operational reliability. These battery packs will be used in EIM's Ashwa 4x2 electric tractor range, which is among the first heavy-duty commercial vehicle ranges in India to use CATL's latest battery technology.

The collaboration is part of EIM's broader vision to create an integrated EHCV ecosystem. The company's Ashwa 55-tonne electric tractor entered the market in August 2025 and has already deployed six heavy-duty battery swapping stations in Delhi-NCR and at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), which can facilitate up to 840 battery swaps per day. EIM plans to expand this network to 40 charging and battery swapping stations by the end of March 2027.

“This agreement ensures that the quality, reliability, and scale required for the expansion of Energy In Motion's network are guaranteed and opens up the possibility of expanding the use of the network in the long-haul commercial transport sector as well,” said Narendra Murkumbi, Managing Director of Energy In Motion.

The commercial vehicle market in India has been slower to electrify compared with other markets due to challenges related to battery economics, weight, and operational requirements. LFP battery chemistry, with its benefits in terms of longevity and safety, combined with localisation efforts through industry collaborations such as the EIM-CATL partnership, is expected to support the adoption of electric freight vehicles in India.