DST Institute Signs MoU To Advance Thermal Materials For Smarter Cooling Of Aviation Batteries

 

 

The aviation industry uses high-energy lithium-based batteries for their high energy density, significantly lower weight, and superior power delivery. However, they generate excess heat during high-power operations, such as takeoff and landing, which can not only compromise efficiency and reduce battery lifespan but also pose serious safety risks. This is why they require robust cooling to prevent thermal runaway by mitigating excessive heat generated during such high-power operations.

 

Since effective heat management remains a major bottleneck, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is accelerating the development of materials-level innovation for improving thermal management in Aviation batteries. To this effect, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between DST's Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and Bengaluru-based thermal battery technology company Deamfly Innovations Pvt Ltd, to develop advanced thermal materials and thermoelectric devices.

 

While passive thermal management strategies, such as Phase Change Materials (PCMs), are appealing for their low weight and zero power consumption, their adoption has been hindered by the inherently poor thermal conductivity of conventional PCMs. Consequently, battery-generated heat is not dissipated quickly enough, resulting in temperature rise and accelerated degradation of battery components. To address this limitation, high-thermal-conductivity additives are often incorporated to create composite PCMs. However, these composites frequently face long-term stability challenges, such as additive agglomeration during repeated thermal cycling, which ultimately compromises performance and reliability.

 

To address current challenges, the joint effort will combine academic research expertise at JNCASR and industrial expertise at Dreamfly Innovations to address critical challenges in drone performance, safety, and operational endurance. The MoU brings together JNCASR’s strengths in materials design, synthesis, advanced characterisation, and thermal transport measurements, led by Prof Kanishka Biswas’s laboratory and Dreamfly's expertise in aviation battery engineering and system-level integration.

 

The advanced thermal materials will be engineered for high thermal conductivity to rapidly absorb excess heat during high-load operation, maintain battery temperatures within optimal ranges, and provide lightweight thermal regulation without compromising long-term stability.