Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has signed a technology transfer with ISRO for the manufacturing of Space Grade Lithium-ion cells. Once established, the company will further extend it to storage and e-mobility market.

The illustration shows the inner workings of a lithium-ion battery.

Image: Argonne National Laboratory/Flickr

As part of its diversification strategy, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has entered into a Technology Transfer Agreement with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the manufacture of space-grade Lithium-ion cells of various capacities utilizing the technology developed by ISRO at its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

ISRO has so far been sourcing space-grade Li-ion cells from foreign vendors, and BHEL has been assembling and testing space-grade Li-ion batteries with such imported cells, for satellites and launch vehicles of ISRO.

This transfer of technology will enable BHEL to manufacture Li-ion cells in-house for ISRO and other suitable applications. The company mentioned that the Li-ion technology could also be further extended for use in the emerging areas of energy storage and electric-mobility. BHEL will set up a state-of-the-art facility for manufacturing these cells at its Bengaluru unit.

Indian energy storage market is eagerly waiting for energy policy from the Indian government, expected to be released next month. It is speculated that various incentives and schemes will be introduced for the upliftment of battery manufacturing for decentralized, off-grid, even for usage in grid stabilization, and electric vehicles (EV) and other energy storage solutions.