The battery development team at the Pune-based Centre for Materials and Electronics Technology (CMET) has been awarded the annual Power Award for designing and developing battery packs and modules for next-generation electric vehicles.

Milind Kulkarni, centre director at CMET Pune, received the national award on behalf of the team from the Power Producers Association of India during the 26th Regulators and Policymakers’ Meet held in Belgaum last week.

In addition to EV battery systems, the team has indigenously developed rechargeable lithium-sodium and flexible batteries using active materials suited for wearable electronics and consumer gadgets. CMET has also established a complete battery fabrication and testing facility capable of developing multiple cell types required for rechargeable battery applications.

Kulkarni said the centre has focused on flexible and bendable rechargeable batteries to meet the growing demand from wearable and flexible electronic devices.

For strategic applications, the Pune battery team is currently working on alternative battery chemistries, including potassium-ion, zinc-ion, lithium-sulphur, lithium-air and salt-water batteries, aimed at meeting the requirements of India’s defence sector.

Operating under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the CMET Pune centre is collaborating with start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises to scale up these technologies from pilot level to industrial-scale production.