Ola, an electric vehicle company, has started constructing its 100GWh gigafactory at its manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. Today, the company installed the first pillar of its cell factory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu.
A Giga factory is a facility that manufactures equipment and components related to electrification and decarbonization technologies.
In February, Ola signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government, committing to investing Rs. 7,614 crore in manufacturing electric cars, two-wheelers, and lithium cell gigafactories in the state.
Spanning 115 acres, the Ola Gigafactory is projected to begin operations by early next year, starting with an initial capacity of 5GWh (GigaWatt hours). It will be gradually scaled up to 100GWh in phases, making it one of the world’s largest cell manufacturing facilities, according to a company statement.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder and CEO of Ola, expressed pride in the milestone, stating, “This is a proud moment for us as we installed the first pillar of our gigafactory today. Our gigafactory will be a major milestone in India’s electrification journey, bringing us closer to making India a global EV hub.”
Ola has also invested in cell and battery research and development and has established an advanced cell R&D facility in Bengaluru.
According to the MoU signed with the state government, Ola will establish an electric vehicle hub that will encompass advanced cell and electric vehicle manufacturing facilities, vendor and supplier parks, and the larger ancillary ecosystem for electric vehicles, all in a single location.