JNCASR and Dreamfly Innovations Partner to Advance Thermal Management Technologies for Aviation Batteries

The advanced thermal materials developed under the collaboration will be engineered for high thermal conductivity, enabling rapid absorption of excess heat during high-load operation.

 

A new industry–academia partnership aims to translate cutting-edge materials research into deployable thermal technologies for real-world aviation platforms, addressing one of the most critical challenges facing high-energy-density lithium-based batteries used in the aviation and drone sectors.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR)—an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST)—and Dreamfly Innovations Pvt. Ltd, a Bengaluru-based company specialising in thermal battery technologies.

Heat Management: A Critical Bottleneck

Effective heat management remains a major constraint for lithium-based batteries operating under high power conditions in aviation. Excessive heat generation can reduce efficiency, shorten battery lifespan 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 limited by the poor thermal conductivity of conventional PCMs. This prevents rapid absorption of heat generated during battery operation, leading to temperature rise and accelerated degradation of battery components.

Attempts to address this issue by adding high-thermal-conductivity fillers to PCMs have had mixed results. Such composite PCMs often suffer from long-term stability problems, including additive agglomeration during repeated thermal cycling, which undermines performance and reliability over time.

Materials-Level Innovation for Aviation Applications

The JNCASR–Dreamfly collaboration seeks to overcome these challenges through materials-level innovation, focusing on the development of advanced thermal materials and thermoelectric devices for improved thermal storage and heat conversion in aviation batteries.

The partnership combines:

• JNCASR’s expertise in materials design, synthesis, advanced characterisation and thermal transport measurements, led by Prof. Kanishka Biswas’s laboratory, and

• Dreamfly Innovations’ strengths in aviation battery engineering, system integration and real-world deployment.

The advanced thermal materials developed under the collaboration will be engineered for high thermal conductivity, enabling rapid absorption of excess heat during high-load operation. The goal is to maintain battery temperatures within optimal operating limits while ensuring lightweight design, durability and long-term stability.

Enhancing Safety, Performance and Endurance

By enabling efficient, passive thermal regulation without compromising reliability, the new materials are expected to significantly enhance battery safety, operational endurance and performance, particularly for drones and other aviation platforms where weight, efficiency and thermal stability are critical.

Officials said the collaboration exemplifies how academic research and industrial innovation can be effectively aligned to address real-world engineering challenges and accelerate the translation of laboratory breakthroughs into deployable technologies.

The initiative is also expected to contribute to India’s broader goals in advanced materials research, clean mobility and aerospace innovation, positioning the country at the forefront of next-generation battery thermal management solutions.