The announcement by OLA on August 15 about its 4680 battery called Bharat Cell must have raised your eyebrows. The idea first put forward by Elon Musk in 2020 challenged existing 2170 design and promised huge improvements in cell design. Now in 2024, we see for the first time in India, Bhavish Aggarwal has announced commercial production with a goal of reaching 100 GWH production by 2030. The 4680 design offers unique advantages over prevalent 2170 design in terms of energy density, range and cost of manufacturing.
So, what is 4680 cell design?
On a very basic level, the number 4680 means 46 mm diameter and 80 mm height, similar to what cell 2170 stands for. In 2020, Elon Musk announced the unconventional design of 4680 to the world in his ambition to launch a mass-market electric vehicle in the coming years. As per Tesla founder, the current cell design manufacturing was not efficient and needed major revamp. The goal was to increase energy density, reduce the cost and simplify the manufacturing process. Current 2170 cell design does not fare well when it comes to space utilization when compared against prism cells. But the optimal diameter of 4680 design mitigates this issue as well as provides intrinsic advantages that come with faster assembly of cylindrical cells. The cell with such design characteristics provides around 5 times more energy density, faster charging speeds and overall lighter battery at reduced cost.
Despite many promises, even after 4 years Tesla has failed to scale the production of 4680 cell design. There were also multiple reports of cell ‘collapsing’ or failing during operation.
India’s 4680 aka ‘Bharat Cell’
Although not much information was revealed during the product launch, Ola’s founder gave some more details during the investor's call. As per Bhavish Aggarwal, the 4680 ,initially, will use NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) chemistry, which is currently used in the company’s scooters. Over the next couple of years, the company plans to introduce additional chemistries, including LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) and LMFP (Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate), within the same platform.
The integration of 4680 cells into vehicles will involve a ramp-up period, with the 4680 cells gradually replacing the 2170 cells in all existing S1 products over a few quarters. New products launched after the start of cell production will begin using the 4680 cells from day one.
The launch of the 4680 cell certainly paints an exciting picture for India’s EV ecosystem and localization. It will be fascinating to see how the production and integration of this new technology unfolds.