Cell Propulsion, a start-up founded by former ISRO engineers, has now started its pilot production line for Li-ion batteries. The facility, based out of Bengaluru, has a maximum output of 500kWh/month. The cells will be used in the company’s in-house light commercial electric vehicles. Cell Propulsion currently is engaged in fleet management of electric vehicles. They deploy these vehicles as part of a fully managed solution to make the adoption of eCVs by logistics and transportation company completely seamless. The company says that batteries of LCVs have a very different design problem compared to the design of battery packs for passenger vehicles or light vehicles. Cell Propulsion claims that it has successfully engineered a reliable system, for the purposes of both Light and Heavy Commercial Vehicles, which is modular, robust and has simple implementation.
Further, the company has employed novel design approaches to develop battery systems that will consider safety, thermal performance, structural loads, power delivery and modularity. The battery management system designed by Cell Propulsion implements proprietary algorithms for state estimation of battery packs – typically for charge and health. The commissioning of the pilot line for producing automotive-grade (AIS-48 certified) battery packs is a major milestone in the journey to deploying class-leading eLCVs for their customers. This launch comes after Cell Propulsion raised $2 million in June 2021 from a clutch of private equity investors, including Endiya Partners, GrowX Ventures, Huddle Accelerator and Micelio. Last September, the company had also raised $1 million in a pre-series A round of fundraising.
We have had a tete-a-tete with the founders of Cell Propulsion. Do keep your eyes peeled for the complete story on this very page.
