EV manufacturer Ola Electric has inducted former Chief Executive Officer of LG Chem Power Dr Prabhakar Patil to its board, as it works towards building indigenous cell technologies and manufacture Li-ion cells.
“I look forward to working closely with Dr Prabhakar as we deepen our focus and investments into advanced cell research as well as large-scale manufacturing and create a global EV hub with our Futurefactory at its centre,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Ola.
He added that the company has already applied for the government of India’s $2.4-billion PLI scheme for developing advanced cells and will set up a cell manufacturing facility with up to 50-GWh capacity in India. Dr Prabhakar’s expertise is expected to help Ola accelerate this process of bringing indigenously-designed and manufactured cells to the market.
Strategic investments
Ola Electric is also looking to make strategic investments into companies which are focused on advanced cell chemistry research and other battery technologies that could enable Ola provide higher density and higher battery performance for its upcoming range of two and four-wheeler EVs.
Speaking on the announcement, Dr Patil said, “I am delighted to join the Ola team and do what I can to support their quest to fundamentally transform major segments of India’s electric mobility system to make it sustainable and self-reliant.”