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Electric vehicle maker Ola Electric on Wednesday said it appointed Prabhakar Patil, former CEO of LG Chem Power, onto its company’s board.

The appointment is in line with Ola Electric’s vision to build indigenous cell technology and manufacture Lithium-ion cells in India at scale.

LG Chem is a leading lithium-ion cell manufacturing company. At present, Ola Electric buys lithium-ion cells from foreign vendors and assembles them to make battery packs at its factory in Tamil Nadu. The battery pack is the most expensive component of an EV.

As part of Ola Electric’s plans to ramp up its core R&D in advanced cell chemistry and manufacturing, other battery technologies, and new energy systems, the company is scouting for opportunities around the world for strategic investments into related companies that will enable the EV manufacturer to provide higher density and higher battery performance for its upcoming range of two and four-wheeler EVs.

Speaking about the new development, Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Ola, said,

“We are investing deeply in core R&D to create indigenous advanced cell technologies and invest into large scale manufacturing of batteries. I look forward to working closely with Dr Prabhakar as we deepen our focus and investments into advanced cell research and large scale manufacturing to build the best battery technologies right here in India and create a global EV hub with our Futurefactory at its centre.”

He added, “We have already applied for the Government of India’s $2.4 billion PLI scheme for developing advanced cells, and will set up a cutting edge cell manufacturing facility with up to 50GWh capacity right here in India. Dr Prabhakar’s expertise will help us accelerate this process of bringing indigenously designed and manufactured cells to the market.”

Upon joining the Ola Electric Mobility Board, Prabhakar Patil said, “I am delighted to join the Ola team and to do what I can to support their quest to fundamentally transform major segments of India’s electric mobility system to make it sustainable and self-reliant.”