Bangalore3 days agoAuthor: Vikram Ahirwar
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Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal. More than 2000 electric scooters are made every day at the Future Factory.
Ola Electric’s IPO has opened from today. This is the first IPO of the EV industry in India. Its price band has been fixed at ₹ 72-₹ 76. Before this IPO, Dainik Bhaskar’s team visited Ola’s Giga Factory and Future Factory.
During this, the company’s CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said – ‘By the beginning of next year, our scooters will have their own cells. We want to reduce the cost of EVs. For this, we have developed a low-cost and high-performance lithium-ion cell.’
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal explaining his future plans at his headquarters in Bengaluru.
Question 1: When will Ola’s cell phone start, what is its current status?
answer: Ola is working on making two types of cells. One of these is NMC2170 and the other is 4680 cell. The 4680 cell is currently in the initial testing phase, which the company has named ‘Bharat Cell’. At the same time, NMC2170 cell is being manufactured. The company will use it in its electric scooters from next year.
Bhavish Aggarwal said that this cell can bring a change in the Indian electric mobility ecosystem. This is the 5G of lithium cell and it will prove to be a game changer for the EV industry. We have advanced technology which only a few companies have at the global level.
Question 2: What is the planning regarding solid state batteries?
answer: We are experimenting in this regard at our Battery Innovation Centre. Solid state batteries on one hand increase energy density, on the other hand their manufacturing cost is low and they are safer too. This technology is new in the whole world and we are also actively involved in it.
Question 3: Will the cells made in Ola’s factory be used in other scooters as well?
answer: The cells manufactured in the Giga factory will not only be used in Ola electric scooters in the future, but can also be sold when the production capacity increases. Installing Made-in-India cells in electric scooters will also reduce its price further. However, Bhavish did not say how much the price of electric scooters will decrease.
Question 4: How much has Ola invested to make cells, what is the production capacity?
answer: To manufacture cells on a large scale, many machines have been installed in the Ola Gigafactory located in Tamil Nadu. Cells are being made here with the help of many necessary things including cathode, anode and electrolyte. An investment of about 100 million dollars has been made for this.
Work is being done phase wise in Ola Gigafactory. In the first phase, cells are being produced here with a capacity of 1.5 Gigawatt-hour (GWh). In the coming time, it will be increased to 5GWh and then to 20GWh.
80% of the employees working in Ola’s Future Factory are women.
Question 5: The government has been running the PLI scheme for a long time, how much benefit did Ola get from it?
The government is benefiting from the PLI scheme, one of which is related to electric vehicle manufacturing and the other is related to lithium ion battery manufacturing. Ola Electric has received PLI from the government for 20GWh lithium ion cell production. Trial production has started in Phase-1 at the Gigafactory and Phase-1B may start next month.
Ola’s e-scooters can be 30 to 40% cheaper
According to experts, if Ola uses its own cells in electric scooters, then their cost can be reduced by 30 to 40% because currently the battery is the most expensive part in electric vehicles. Currently, the company is buying cells from South Korea and China.
Research and development work is going on at the Ola Battery Innovation Center in Bengaluru. Cells will be manufactured on a large scale in the future from the prototypes made there. This will eliminate the need to import cells from outside and the company will be able to keep the price of its scooter low.
Battery price is the biggest challenge for EV manufacturers
Battery prices also remain a challenge for other electric vehicle manufacturers because the companies do not manufacture batteries themselves or do so in small quantities. Core manufacturers still have a large share of the battery manufacturing market.
If Ola starts making batteries for electric vehicles, it will be a big achievement for the EV industry. However, Ola will have to face challenges from other companies in India.
Amara Raja: Investment of Rs 9,500 crore
- This company is considered a leader in battery manufacturing in India. They have been manufacturing lead acid batteries here for years. The company has recently signed a deal with Gotion InoBot Batteries, a sub-brand of China’s Gotion Hi-Tech Company.
- Under this partnership, a gigafactory will be set up in India. This factory will be set up in Telangana. GIB will license its lithium iron phosphate technology to Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies to manufacture lithium ion cells.
- Initially, the cell manufacturing capacity of this factory will be 2GWh/year, which will be increased to 16GWh/year later. Amara Raja will invest Rs 9,500 crore in the entire project. This factory will be ready by 2025.
- Amara Raja has also partnered with another company to manufacture 2170 cells. Apart from this, Exide Energy Solutions has partnered with car manufacturers Hyundai and Kia Motor to manufacture lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells.
Also read this news related to Ola…
Ola Electric IPO price band ₹72-₹76: Investors will be able to bid from today till August 6, can get 20% profit on listing
Ola Electric Mobility’s Initial Public Offer i.e. IPO will open today. Investors will be able to bid for it till August 6. On August 9, the company’s shares will be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE). With this, it will become the first listed electric two-wheeler company. Click to read the full news…
Ola stopped the electric car project: Was planning to launch in 2024, will focus on e-scooters and bikes
Indian startup Ola Electric has stopped planning to launch its electric car. This information has been given by news agency Reuters. According to Reuters, the company wants to focus on its two-wheeler segment. This includes the S1 series of electric scooters and bikes.
The company’s founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal shared the car-related planning in an interview with Forbes, but two people associated with the project said that the company is preparing to bring an IPO in August. Before this, the electric car project has been put on hold.
Click here to read full news
