Electric vehicle company Ola on Wednesday said it has started construction of a 100GWh gigafactory at its manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu.
The company today installed the first pillar of its battery plant in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu.
Gigafactories are facilities that manufacture equipment and components related to electrification and decarbonization technologies.
In February this year, Ola signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government, committing to invest Rs 100 crore. 7,614 crore for manufacturing electric vehicles, two-wheelers and lithium battery gigafactories in the state.
Ola Gigafactory, spread over 115 acres, is expected to start operations early next year with an initial capacity of 5GWh (gigawatt hours). The company stated that it will expand to 100GWh in stages.
It is said that when the factory is fully operational, it will become one of the largest battery manufacturing plants in the world.
Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of the company, said: “This is a proud moment for us as we install the first pillar of the Gigafactory today. Our Gigafactory will be an important milestone in India’s electrification journey, taking us closer to making India a global hub for electric vehicles.”
Ola has also invested in R&D of cells and battery packs and has set up one of its advanced battery R&D facilities in Bengaluru.
Under the MoU signed with the state government, the company will establish an electric vehicle hub that will house advanced battery and electric vehicle manufacturing facilities, supplier parks and a larger EV ancillary ecosystem in one location.