Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric has refuted allegations that it acquired leaked battery expertise from a former LG Vitality Resolution researcher, calling the studies “deceptive and utterly baseless.”

The controversy started when a South Korean publication reported that South Korean authorities introduced {that a} former principal researcher at LG Vitality Resolution, recognized as Mr. A, had been referred to prosecutors for allegedly leaking pouch-type ternary battery expertise, designated as nationwide core expertise, to an Indian firm, reportedly Ola Electrical.

Mr. A had labored at LG’s Nanjing plant in China earlier than becoming a member of Ola in November 2023. Police investigations in Seoul allege that he shared confidential data associated to next-generation high-energy-density secondary batteries, together with manufacturing strategies, materials ratios, and manufacturing processes.

Responding to the studies, Ola Electrical mentioned that the alleged expertise “just isn’t even an space of analysis or industrial curiosity” for the corporate. The Bengaluru-based electrical car producer clarified that its ongoing work is concentrated on the 4680 Bharat Cell, a cylindrical battery based mostly on superior dry electrode expertise that it claims “surpasses the pouch cell touted in media leaks.”

The corporate mentioned that the timing of those allegations coincides suspiciously with the industrial rollout of its 4680 Bharat Cell, India’s first indigenous large-format battery cell.

“The worry of dropping market alternatives, together with a big buyer in Ola Electrical, is prompting the international rival to assault an indigenous battery innovation,” Ola mentioned.

Ola Electrical additionally highlighted its in depth mental property portfolio and home manufacturing efforts. The corporate mentioned it has filed 720 patents, with 124 already granted, and operates a Battery Innovation Centre in Bengaluru with over 250 specialists from main international cell expertise companies. Ola’s cell manufacturing arm has additionally established India’s first operational gigafactory, constructed with an funding of Rs 2,500 crore.

“India’s progress in superior cell expertise, exemplified by the 4680 Bharat Cell, is the direct results of this imaginative and prescient for technological self-reliance. We is not going to enable enterprise rivalries or motivated media hypothesis to derail India’s push towards international management in clear vitality and battery innovation,” Ola mentioned in its assertion.