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Business News/ Companies / News/  Ola in talks with multiple global suppliers for $1 bn cell manufacturing
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Ola in talks with multiple global suppliers for $1 bn cell manufacturing

As part of its broader electrification push, the firm plans to invest in companies with advanced cell and battery technology, alongside the 50 Gwh battery plant.

Ola Electric needs 40 Gwh of battery capacity to power 10 million electric scooters annually. (Bloomberg)Premium
Ola Electric needs 40 Gwh of battery capacity to power 10 million electric scooters annually. (Bloomberg)

SoftBank Group-backed Ola Electric is in talks with multiple global suppliers to build a battery cell manufacturing plant in India with a capacity of up to 50-gigawatt hours, news agency PTI reported.

CEO Bhavish Aggarwal recently said the company plans to accelerate its new ambitious projects such as electric car, cell manufacturing and the gigafactory, besides deepening focus on technology and engineering.

The company is doubling down on building the future in the country, he had said while refuting reports that he is stepping away from the company's day-to-day management with CFO Arun GR getting an expanded role.

As part of its broader electrification push, the firm plans to invest in companies with advanced cell and battery technology, alongside the 50 Gwh battery plant.

Ola Electric needs 40 Gwh of battery capacity to power 10 million electric scooters annually. The remainder will be for its electric cars, which the company plans to manufacture in the future.

The PTI report, citing sources, said the cell battery plant may cost around USD 1 billion (over 7,700 crore) and may be built with an initial capacity of 1 Gwh, which will be expanded in the future.

Over 40 global suppliers are already in Bengaluru to meet with Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal at the company's headquarters and are also visiting the Ola Futurefactory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu this week, it said.

Ola Electric, they said, has initiated talks with global suppliers from Germany, Korea, Japan and other hubs to fuel its battery manufacturing ambitions.

It currently imports its battery cells from South Korea.

Companies like Dürr and Siemens also seem to be on the list of suppliers.

The battery cell manufacturing sector is dominated by the likes of CATL, LG, Energy Solutions, and Panasonic, which supply to automakers such as Tesla and Volkswagen.

Industry experts believe that one of the world's youngest EV companies is keen to begin cell manufacturing by next year.

Aggarwal has already stated that India can soon replace China and emerge as the global hub for electric vehicles (EVs).

Towards this end, Ola plans to develop the entire ecosystem -- cell and battery tech, global supply chains, interconnected as well as autonomous vehicle technologies.

Ola Electric was one of the 10 companies that submitted a bid under the Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage Programme in India under the production-linked incentive scheme for battery manufacturing capabilities with a budget outlay of 18,100 crore. It is the only Indian auto and EV company that has been selected by the government under PLI.

While its cell PLI bid was for the maximum allowed bid capacity of 20 GWh, founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had blogged about the company's plans to set up an even larger 50 GWh gigafactory to support its own 2W (two-wheeler) and 4W (four-wheeler) plans.

According to sources, Ola is also looking to set up an even larger 50 GWh gigafactory and a battery innovation centre to support its two-wheeler and four-wheeler roadmap for India and the world.

In December 2020, Ola started the production of its electric scooters in Tamil Nadu.

The company'ss four-wheeler ambitions are taking a serious shape with some concept designs almost ready.

It is in talks with governments of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana for land acquisition and the company is likely to finalize it as early as next month, according to a PTI report.

The firm already has 500 acre in Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu where it has built its Futurefactory, the world's largest two-wheeler factory.

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Published: 07 Jun 2022, 03:46 PM IST
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