THE United States and Israeli war against Iran is turning out to be a light-bulb moment for Asia, the continent most exposed to the loss of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the still largely closed Strait of Hormuz.

The world’s most populous and fast-growing region was already embracing electrification, especially in the form of electric vehicles (EVs) and battery electric storage systems (Bess), but this was a largely China-led phenomenon.