Indian defence major Bharat Forge Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with American technology major General Atomics for collaboration in developing a Lithium-Ion Battery System for use by the Indian Navy. The agreement was inked on the sidelines of the DefExpo in Gandhinagar on 19 October.
Under the terms of the MoU, Bharat Forge and General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems Group (GA-EMS) will collaborate on a Lithium-Ion battery system for the naval platforms/submarines Program. Bharat Forge said the two sides have also agreed to partner in the area of permanent magnet motors. Lithium-Ion battery systems are used in various naval platforms, including submarines.
“We have been relentlessly working towards bringing niche technologies in the country with the aim of making Indian self-reliant in defence verticals,” said Baba Kalyani, Chairman of Kalyani Group.
“General Atomics is a market leader for in-service Li-Ion Battery solutions for naval platforms/submarines, and our partnership with General Atomics is a firm step in the direction to develop Make in India solutions for the Indian Navy and setting up a strong defence technology and manufacturing vertical within India,” he said.
President of General Atomics-EMS Scott Forney said his company is looking forward to working with Bharat Forge to meet the requirements of the Indian Navy.
“We are committed to working with companies like Bharat Forge, whose reputation for excellence and dedication to quality is synergistic with ours, as we continue to deliver technology innovations and cutting-edge systems for undersea and surface platforms,” Forney said.
“Our Li-Ion battery system has been developed after ten years of rigorous R&D. Instead of the usual ‘fault prevention’, our design philosophy is based on assuming a fault and requiring fault containment’, which has made our system extremely safe and reliable”, said Forney.
Team BharatShakti
