When Ola Electrical began constructing its Gigafactory in Tamil Nadu, the pitch was easy: make battery cells, put them in scooters, promote the scooters. Three years later, on the Q1FY27 earnings name, chairman Bhavish Aggarwal opened with the quarterly numbers, rattled by way of a quantity restoration and a margin maintain, after which pivoted to what clearly excited him extra.
A 20-GWh vitality storage deal, utility-scale battery containers for India’s energy grid, LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells heading into defence drones, and MoUs with near-space constellation platforms.
The corporate signed its first MoU for Mahashakti, a utility-scale vitality storage system, overlaying 20 GWh of deployment by 2032. Aggarwal mentioned India would wish a minimum of 400 GWh of storage capability within the subsequent 5 to 6 years and referred to as even that authorities estimate conservative. A house and business storage product referred to as Shakti is getting a less expensive LFP-cell model on August 15.
The Q1FY27 shareholders letter additionally discloses MoUs throughout defence and UAV functions, near-space constellation platforms and utility-scale renewable initiatives. It describes the Axis Vitality partnership as one of many largest introduced home deployments of indigenous battery-storage expertise in India.
One Manufacturing unit, Two Chemistries, 5 Markets
The pivot from car maker to vitality firm rests on a two-chemistry cell technique. Aggarwal instructed analysts that 80% of Ola’s auto portfolio will shift to LFP cells, that are cheaper and have longer cycle lives. NMC cells (lithium-ion rechargeable battery with a cathode manufactured from nickel, manganese, and cobalt) keep for the highest 20% of efficiency autos and area of interest functions like drones.
All vitality storage merchandise will use LFP. Shakti Gen 2, constructed with LFP, will carry gross margins “even more healthy than the auto section,” he mentioned.
The auto enterprise nonetheless pays the payments, although. Automotive income was Rs 455 crore in Q1, up 72% sequentially. The cell section generated Rs 5 crore. Service income, focused to develop from roughly Rs 130 crore in FY26 to Rs 400-500 crore by FY28 at roughly 65% gross margins based on the shareholders letter, represents the bridge between the scooter enterprise Ola has and the vitality enterprise it desires.
The Math That Wants To Work
Cell yields sit within the “excessive 70s to 80%” vary, Aggarwal disclosed, under the 90% that analysts contemplate commercially viable. The manufacturing unit paused manufacturing for 2 months to complete increasing from 2.5 GWh to six GWh. Full capability comes on-line later this month. The 6-to-20 GWh enlargement would require a separate fairness elevate on the cell entity degree, holding the guardian stability sheet insulated.
The consolidated enterprise nonetheless burns roughly Rs 195 crore per quarter on the working degree. Aggarwal’s wager is that the identical Gigafactory can serve scooters, bikes, dwelling batteries, grid storage and defence functions concurrently.
On financials, Ola Electrical practically doubled deliveries within the June quarter, clawed again market share from 5.1% to eight.4%, and held gross margins above 30% regardless of an 11% spike in commodity prices.
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