Ola Electric Signs First Large BESS Deal With Axis Energy, Eyes 20 GWh by 2032

Ola Electric Mobility has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyderabad-based renewable energy developer Axis Energy for the potential deployment of up to 20 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) by 2032, marking the electric vehicle maker's formal entry into utility-scale power storage. The agreement, announced on Tuesday, is the first large-scale partnership for Ola Mahashakti, the company's upcoming storage platform for commercial, industrial and utility-scale use, which is scheduled to launch on 15 August.

Under the non-binding pact, the two companies envisage ramping up to 5 GWh of annual BESS capacity from 2028. Axis Energy, which has more than 15 years of experience developing wind, solar and hybrid renewable projects and runs a joint venture called Evren with Brookfield Renewable, is building one of the larger pipelines of storage-backed renewable capacity in the country, with projects across Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The tie-up positions Ola to tap into a storage market that policymakers expect to expand sharply over the next decade. The Central Electricity Authority has projected that India will need upwards of 400 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2032, as the grid absorbs a growing share of intermittent renewable generation and utilities seek round-the-clock, dispatchable clean power. The government has already backed this shift with a viability-gap-funding scheme worth thousands of crores to support tens of gigawatt-hours of battery storage capacity nationwide.

Ola's pitch for Mahashakti rests on the vertical integration it built for its EV business — extending from in-house cell technology to system engineering — which it argues gives customers stronger safety assurances, greater supply-chain control and a lower total cost of ownership than storage systems assembled from bought-in components. It is a proposition the company has already tested with Ola Shakti, a smaller residential storage product it launched last year, before broadening into the industrial and grid-scale segment through Mahashakti.

The diversification comes at a testing moment for Ola's founding business. The company has slipped from its earlier position as India's largest electric two-wheeler seller to well behind rivals such as TVS, Bajaj and Ather, with volumes down sharply over the past year and losses continuing despite some narrowing quarter on quarter. Suppliers have moved to recover dues through insolvency proceedings, and the stock trades well off its highs. Storage, alongside the residential Shakti line, is one of the avenues chairman and managing director Bhavish Aggarwal has pointed to as the company broadens its revenue base beyond two-wheelers.

For Axis Energy, the arrangement offers a domestic, India-manufactured storage partner as it scales renewable capacity that increasingly needs firming and grid-balancing support to be commercially viable. Neither company has disclosed the commercial terms of the eventual supply arrangement, and the MoU stops short of a binding order — its scale will depend on how quickly Mahashakti moves from announcement to proven deployment.

The next test comes soon. Ola is due to report its first-quarter results for the current financial year this week, and the Mahashakti platform itself is set to be unveiled in detail later this month — both moments likely to shape how convincingly the storage bet is received.