Ola S1 Air’s Battery Pack Gets Li-ion Cells From LG!

Ola recently launched the S1 Air, one of its more affordable offerings in the country. And now a recent ARAI approval document revealed that two different battery packs from two different manufacturers were homologated for the scooter. What’s this all about then? Well, here’s what it is: 

Do Naam Ek Kaam

The Do Naam in the type approval document: LG Chem and BAK Power are two different battery cell manufacturers. And as the name suggests, LG Chem is the chemical subsidiary of South Korean giant LG Corporation, while the BAK Group is a China-based enterprise that makes Lithium-ion cells. 

The LG battery supposedly gives a range (according to AIS 040, a standard of range testing for EVs) of 151km –which is also what Ola claims is the IDC range for the S1 Air – while the one from BAK is supposed to deliver 133km. 

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But What’s NMC And NCA? 

What will interest a lot of prospective buyers – and tech geeks like us –  is the different chemistries in these two batteries. The NMC in the LG battery stands for Nickel, Manganese and Cobalt. As is apparent, the cathode terminal of this kind of battery is made up of nickel, manganese, and cobalt, all in equal amounts (around 33 percent). Now, while their higher energy density provides a higher range, the incorporation of manganese raises concerns around environmental sustainability. 

The Nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) batteries, meanwhile, substitute manganese with aluminum to enhance its longevity. However, NCA packs still have a relatively shorter lifespan and are more expensive, given the presence of limited elements like cobalt and nickel. The lack of manganese also makes it that much more environmentally sustainable.  

Which Battery Pack Will You Get?

And that brings us to the original question: why would Ola keep two suppliers for its battery cells? Well, we reached out to the brand and it said that it had homologated both types of cells to test out which would suit the S1 Air better . And after that, the brand has settled with the LG cells. So while both batteries were homologated, the S1 Air that you buy will come with LG cells. That said, from what we understand, this is only temporary as Ola will soon start manufacturing its own cells at its  Gigafactory at Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu. This plant is said to have an output of 100GWh once it’s fully online, which should then make Ola one of the largest Li-ion cell manufacturers in the world.