New Delhi, March 16 Ola Electric has launched a plan to raise up to ₹2,000 crore by selling a stake in its battery arm, Ola Cell Technologies (OCT), according to sources.
OCT owns the lithium-ion cell manufacturing plant based in Tamil Nadu, with an operational capacity of 1.5 GWh, and plans to scale it up to 6 GWh by the end of this financial year.
Investment banks Avendus and Motilal Oswal have been mandated to manage the fundraising process, sources said.
This development comes as part of Ola Electric's efforts to restructure its operations and strengthen its balance sheet as it works towards a turnaround.
The stake dilution plans will also determine the market valuation of a crucial battery infrastructure asset, the valuation of which has not yet been determined. Sources added that the unique nature of this asset has attracted interest from financial investors, including some leading sovereign wealth funds.
The gigafactory, with an initial investment of ₹3,500 crore, marks a significant step towards localizing battery cell manufacturing in India, a critical capability as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on imported cells while building a domestic EV supply chain.
The plant will support energy storage products and systems across various industries, beyond the two-wheeler market.
Ola's Battery Innovation Centre, a part of OCT, houses over 200 executives drawn from global corporations and has developed a portfolio of close to 400 patents, with work spanning multiple cell chemistries including NMC, LFP, LMFP, and LMR, as well as different form factors such as cylindrical, prismatic, and solid-state cells.
As India pushes towards 50 per cent renewables by 2030, the mismatch between electricity generation and consumption means storage has to be somewhere in between.
A large share of renewable electricity will pass through storage before reaching users.
Ola has already launched residential battery energy storage systems (BESS) and has plans to enter the commercial energy storage systems market, as most of the electricity generated (from coal, solar, wind, and hydro) flows directly to consumption, which hinders optimal usage.
Ola has also developed dry electrode manufacturing technology, which is considered one of the most significant innovations in lithium-ion battery production.
Using this process, the company has developed the 4680-format Bharat Cell, which is now being commercially manufactured at the gigafactory and has been deployed in Ola Electric vehicles for more than six months.