Ola CEO: Create alternative lithium supply chains to reduce imports from China
- ByStartupStory | December 29, 2022
Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of Ola, has urged creating a different supply chain to reduce the nation’s growing reliance on China for lithium.
Aggarwal advocated for localizing lithium’s midstream processing by collaborating with other nations that had sizable lithium reserves, like Australia, Chile, and Argentina.
“China currently dominates the midstream processing of lithium. However, the majority of lithium mines are located in Australia, Chile, and Argentina. China doesn’t control the vast majority of these mines. By focusing on localizing the midstream processing of lithium and partnering with these countries, India can build an alternate supply chain for itself and the world,” the CEO said.
He dismissed as a misconception the idea that as more electric cars (EVs) are used, India’s dependence on China will grow.
Aggrawal added that for novel materials and components like motors, rare earth magnets, power electronics, and semiconductors, the nation has to establish local supply chains. The CEO of Ola wanted to take advantage of India’s strengths in the IT industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as the nation’s expanding strength in electronics production.
“To create world-class EV products and core cell technology, we need to build local supply chains for new materials and components. We can’t just be the final assemblers of the products,” Aggrawal said.
He claimed that Ola Electric has a significant competitive edge over other international and Indian EV businesses due to its localized supply network. The business states that it is constructing a facility that will allow it to work on cell technology and create its own collection of intellectual property rights (IPs).
The EV firm also intends to set up its 5 GWh cell production facility by the end of 2023. In the following ten years, it intends to increase the capacity to 100 GWh. According to Aggrawal’s blog post, Ola Electric intends to introduce a number of EV two-wheelers during the next two years, including high-end motorbikes.
One of the essential parts of an electric car is a lithium-ion battery. However, China, which holds a sizable portion of the battery market, entirely rules this sector. According to research, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), a Chinese battery manufacturer, held over 35% of the world’s li-ion battery market in the first quarter of 2022.
The safety of such imports has come under scrutiny since there aren’t enough quality checks on batteries made in China. After several EV fires this year attracted the attention of regulators, these batteries have come under examination across the nation.
The area still thrives in spite of the bumps. The year 2022 saw the highest EV sales numbers on record, with 9.8 lakh EVs registered across all categories in the country. With 6.1 lakh registered units this year compared to 1.5 lakh units last year, two-wheeler EVs have gained the most traction.
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