Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola to invest $500 million in EV battery R&D unit

'Unique and cutting-edge' state-of-the-art battery innovation centre in Bengaluru to be world's largest

Ola Electric, the ride-hailing firm’s electric vehicle arm, is investing about $500 million for setting up its battery innovation centre (BIC) in Bengaluru. Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola said that BIC will be one of the world’s largest and most advanced cell research and development (R&D) facilities with more than 165 ‘unique and cutting-edge’ laboratory equipment to cover all aspects of cell-related R&D. The company didn’t reveal the time period for the investment. But, according to sources, it is three to five years.

In India, SoftBank-backed Ola is now in direct competition with electric two-wheeler makers like Ather Energy, Hero Electric, Bajaj,