A new industry–academia partnership has been formed to translate advanced materials research into deployable thermal technologies for aviation battery systems. The collaboration addresses a key challenge facing high-energy-density lithium-based batteries used in aviation, where effective heat management remains a major bottleneck affecting performance, lifespan and safety.

An MoU has been signed between Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, and Dreamfly Innovations Pvt. Ltd, a Bengaluru-based company working on thermal battery technologies. The partnership aims to develop advanced thermal materials and thermoelectric devices to improve heat storage and conversion in aviation batteries.

Excessive heat generation during high-power operation in aviation platforms can reduce battery efficiency, accelerate degradation and pose serious safety risks. While passive thermal management solutions such as phase change materials (PCMs) are attractive due to their low weight and zero power consumption, their adoption has been constrained by poor thermal conductivity, which limits rapid heat absorption.

Although composite PCMs enhanced with high-conductivity additives offer a potential solution, they often face long-term stability issues such as additive agglomeration during repeated thermal cycling, leading to performance degradation. The new collaboration seeks to overcome these limitations through materials-level innovation.

The joint research effort combines JNCASR’s expertise in materials design, synthesis, advanced characterisation and thermal transport measurements, led by Kanishka Biswas, with Dreamfly Innovations’ capabilities in aviation battery engineering and system-level integration.

The advanced thermal materials under development will be engineered to deliver high thermal conductivity, enabling rapid absorption of excess heat during high-load operation. This is expected to help maintain batteries within optimal temperature ranges, support lightweight thermal regulation and ensure long-term material stability.

By bringing together academic research and industrial innovation, the collaboration aims to address critical challenges in aviation and drone battery performance, safety and operational endurance, supporting the transition of laboratory research into real-world aviation platforms.