Ola Electric to invest 500 million US Dollars to build an EV battery R&D facility in Banglore
Ola Electric CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal took to Twitter to announce an investment of 500 million US Dollars by Ola Electric to build a cutting-edge Battery Innovation Center (BIC) in Bangalore.
According to Ola, BIC will be one of the largest and most sophisticated cell research and development (R&D) facilities in the world, equipped with more than 165 pieces of 'unique and cutting-edge' laboratory equipment to handle all facets of cell-related R&D. Ola's BIC will house prototype lines that can create all cell types, including cylindrical, pouch, coin-shaped, and prismatic. The top-tier innovation hub will be equipped with the capacity to create integrated packages of battery pack design, manufacturing, and testing all under one roof.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy machines (XPS), the most recent Gen 3 CT scan equipment for Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) for cell and pack imaging, a double planetary mixer, lab slot die coater, electrode fabrication unit, an automated assembly line for manufacturing cylindrical and pouch cells, among other high-tech research tools will be available in Ola's BIC's physical characteristics labs.
In order to create novel battery materials, BIC will also be provisioned with internal manufacturing capabilities for anode and cathode materials on an mg to kg scale, an integrated facility for hand-in-hand nanoscale analysis and Molecular Dynamics modelling, and an internal crystal structure analysis. Ola's BIC will hire the best talent from across the world, including 500 PhDs and engineers, and they'll have the help of another 1000 researchers in India and several other global hubs.
NMC 2170, Ola's first Li-ion cell, was also recently introduced. By 2023, Ola's in-house-built Gigafactory will start producing its cell in large quantities. The company is currently building a cutting-edge cell manufacturing facility with an initial capacity of up to 20 GWh, localizing the most crucial step in the value chain of electric vehicles. The company was recently also allocated 20GWh capacity under the ACC PLI scheme by the Government of India for developing advanced cells in India.
Bhavish Aggarwal also said, "Electric mobility is a high growth sector which is R&D intensive. Ola's Battery Innovation Center in Bangalore will be the cornerstone for core cell tech development and battery innovation out of India for the world. BIC will house advanced labs and high-tech equipment for battery innovation and will power India's journey towards becoming a global EV hub."