Ola Electric has signed a memorandum of understanding with renewable energy developer Axis Energy to evaluate the deployment of up to 20 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) by 2032, aligning with the country’s growing need for flexible grid infrastructure.
The agreement represents the first large commercial partnership for Ola Mahashakti, the company’s battery energy storage platform scheduled to launch on August 15. While the memorandum is non binding, it signals Ola Electric’s intention to diversify beyond electric vehicles into utility scale energy storage, an increasingly strategic market as India seeks to integrate higher shares of renewable generation.
The scale of the proposed deployment reflects the broader transformation underway in India’s electricity system. According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India will require more than 400 GWh of energy storage by 2032 to support renewable energy integration, maintain grid reliability, and meet rising electricity demand. Compared with that national requirement, the proposed 20 GWh partnership would represent approximately 5% of the country’s projected storage needs.
Under the agreement, Ola Electric and Axis Energy aim to gradually increase annual battery deployments, targeting up to 5 GWh per year from 2028 before reaching the cumulative 20 GWh objective by 2032.
The timing coincides with rapid growth in renewable energy projects that increasingly require storage to provide firm and dispatchable electricity. Axis Energy has secured grid approvals for more than 3.75 GW of projects across Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and reports an additional 3.5 GW under development. These projects include firm and dispatchable renewable energy, hybrid generation, and other renewable configurations designed to provide more consistent electricity supply than standalone solar or wind installations.
Battery storage has become a critical component of these projects because it allows excess renewable electricity generated during periods of high solar or wind output to be stored and delivered when generation declines or electricity demand peaks. As renewable penetration increases, storage also helps reduce curtailment, improves transmission utilization, and provides frequency regulation and other grid balancing services.
For Ola Electric, the partnership extends its strategy of developing a vertically integrated battery manufacturing ecosystem. The company said Mahashakti systems are being designed and manufactured in India across the full value chain, including cell technology, battery manufacturing, and system engineering. According to the company, this integrated approach is intended to improve safety, performance, supply chain resilience, and long term ownership costs.
Localization has become a central policy objective for India’s battery industry as the country seeks to reduce dependence on imported battery components while expanding domestic manufacturing under production linked incentive programs and broader industrial policy initiatives.
However, building competitive domestic battery manufacturing remains challenging. Global battery production continues to be dominated by established Asian manufacturers with significant economies of scale, while Indian producers must simultaneously develop manufacturing capacity, secure raw material supply chains, and improve technological competitiveness.
The commercial success of Mahashakti will therefore depend not only on manufacturing capability but also on whether domestically produced storage systems can compete on cost, reliability, and performance with international suppliers already active in utility scale storage markets.
Axis Energy’s project portfolio provides a potential early market for such systems. The Hyderabad based renewable energy developer has more than 1.5 GW of commissioned renewable capacity and a total development pipeline exceeding 8.5 GW. The company also benefits from a strategic partnership with Brookfield Renewable through Evren, a 51:49 joint venture backed by Brookfield’s $20 billion Global Transition Fund II, providing access to capital for large scale renewable and storage investments.
Beyond renewable integration, Ola says its storage platform is also being developed for industrial power applications, transmission infrastructure, and rapidly expanding data center markets, sectors expected to drive significant electricity demand growth over the coming decade.
