Ola Electric has announced the start of construction of its upcoming battery gigafactory, which is expected to be the largest electric vehicle battery factory in India. Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola Electric, shared the latest news in a tweet, while also sharing images of the pioneering move. The new Gigafactory is in line with Ola’s plans to become an integral player in the EV space, where the company is working to develop more two- and even four-wheeled vehicles.
Ola Electric’s battery Gigafactory is located in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, and promises a capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year. The soon-to-be-constructed manufacturing facility will be able to produce batteries for electric vehicles as well as other battery solutions. To compete with players from China, Taiwan and South Korea, India has so far not had its own large-scale battery manufacturing.
Also read: Ola Electric launches first home-grown battery, mass production by 2023
A tweet from Bhavish Aggarwal read: “Our battery gigafactory is up and running full steam ahead! It will be India’s largest and one of the world’s largest cell factories. And the heart of #endICEage!”
The Indian government is also promoting EVs and is offering incentives to those involved in the industry, including the production of batteries, under the PLI scheme. Besides Ola Electric, Reliance Industries is also expected to set up a battery manufacturing plant in the country, while Bengaluru-based startup Log9 Materials became the first Indian company to start producing batteries locally in the country.
Local production of batteries should help curb the severe supply chain constraints the auto industry faces with regard to electric vehicles. It also helps achieve higher economies of scale while reducing import and logistics costs for future battery purchases. That said, Ola’s battery gigafactory is still a few years away from being operational.
First published date: May 26, 2023 at 19:53 PM CST
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