Lithium-ion batteries will replace all batteries
in the defence and space sector. It is the
future of battery technology and set to replace
the lead-acid models, said Chairman of DRDO
and Secretary of Department of Defence R&D
Dr. S. Christopher here on Saturday.
Delivering the inaugural address at the one-day
workshop on ‘Indigenous lithium-ion batteries
for special applications’ organised by the
Naval Science and Technological Laboratory
(NSTL), he said innovation was the buzzword
and “we have to innovate to make best use
of the available technology.”
Introducing the technology to the participants,
Dr. O.R. Nandagopan, Director NSTL, said development
of the batteries was at an advanced stage
at the NSTL and it would be rolled out sometime
in 2019.
According to Dr. Nandagopan, cell phones had
revolutionised the use and need of lithium-ion
batteries and in India it was in the development
stage. A. Srinivas Kumar, Technology Director,
Battery and Explosives, NSTL, pointed out
that R&D in this field was the need of the
hour to reduce the dependency on imports.
Dr. Sameer Kamat, Director General, Naval
Systems and Materials, pointed out that indigenous
development was important.
Rear Admiral V. Srinivas, Flag Officer, Submarines,
ENC, said batteries were a key component in
all variants of submarines be it the latest
Scorpene or the nuclear-powered Arihant class
of submarines. “Till now we have been using
the lead-acid variant of batteries and we
need to migrate to the lithium-ion type for
their high energy and high power density capability.
This variant of batteries will allow us to
lie deeper for a longer period,” he said.
