Indian battery manufacturer Amara Raja announced the hiring of Aditya Palthi as general manager of cell assembly at its Advanced Cell Technologies business.
It said his 16+ years in product development and lithium-ion cell production experience will help drive lithium-ion cell manufacturing at its upcoming gigafactory in Divitipally, Hyderabad.
Palthi said after living in the US for two decades he decided to move back to India to be close to family and “carry the torch” for a sustainable future.
He last worked for Tesla for three years, most recently as engineering manager in cell assembly.
He told BEST “spectacular results can be achieved” and great products can be churned out once there is a zealous team with the right attitude. They need a shared vision, a conducive and collaborative environment, and the right tools to be successful, he added.
“The goal is to bring together a great team of like-minded people with the right attitude and work together to analyse and adapt apt technology to scale-up.”
Amara Raja said it has been working on lithium-ion cell chemistries specifically suited for Indian subcontinent conditions and has supplied several battery packs that have undergone millions of kilometres of actual on-road travel.
The gigafactory will be spread over 265 acres with planned capacity of 16GWh.
