Ola Electric, which is one of the beneficiaries of the Centre’s Rs 18,100 crore PLI scheme for ACC, has announced the launch of the ‘Bharat’ battery cell, an in-house manufactured 4680 cell on Thursday. Speaking to the media, the founder and the CEO of Ola Electric, Bhavish Aggarwal , said that they have more than 70 patents on this technology and pointed out : “We did not import the tech; we invented it. ”
Speaking at the Ola Electric Sankalp 2024 event, Aggarwal described how the firm aims to disrupt the energy sector in India. The planned progression of cell manufacturing is in phases: 5 GWh in 2024, 20 GWh in 2026, and 100 GWh in 2030. He also added that Ola Electric’s strategy is to properly incorporate the 4680 cell within its products sometime early in the year April 2025.
Bengaluru-based electric vehicle maker was the recipient of 20 Gigawatt hours out of the total 50 Gigawatt hours allowed in the PLI scheme. Other recipients are ACC Energy Storage and Reliance New Energy Battery Storage.
The company, for instance, has let the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), the nodal ministry for the ACC PLI, known that the pilot production of about 10,000 cells has already been accomplished, officials said.
The objectives of the ACC PLI scheme are intended to make India globally self-sufficient in battery technology for the EV sector. The battery contributes to 30 to 50 per cent of the cost of an electric two wheeler depending upon the battery capacity and chemistry. As a result, the world expects that the procurement of indigenous cells will lower the cost of the EV to make them accessible.
The “Bharat” cell by Ola holds rather high performance parameters – it is 5 times denser in energy than the 2170 cells which are currently used in Ola’s scooters. It also appears to boast faster rates of charging, which again is part of the better user experience that the firm avows.
The company’s GigaFactory is being constructed in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu in phases, with Phase 1 targeting a 5 GWh capacity.
