Mitsubishi to Deliver Li Batteries for Indian Satellites

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Tokyo) has signed a contract with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to develop and manufacture a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery for the INSAT satellite series, the Indian Space Agency's latest satellite platform.

The INSAT series will have several satellites for long distance telecommunications such as radio and TV program distribution, meteorological earth observation, and data relay. It has payload power requirements in the range of 2,500 to 5000 W, and one of the satellites will be configured with a Li-ion Battery to provide 100% payload power support during eclipses and with a design life of 15 years in a geosynchronous orbit.

ISRO selected Mitsubishi Electric because of its optimal proposal to ISRO's demands in addition to its base of established battery technology and participation in and experiences with the Japanese government's space program and the international market.

Mitsubishi Electric's Li-ion Battery for INSAT is based on dual modules consisted of 100 Ah cells, the world largest capacity for space-use Li-ion cells. It is well known that Li-ion batteries will have several advantageous characteristics for use in satellites compared to NiH2 batteries, such as low mass and volume as well as ease of maintenance and handling. Mitsubishi Electric's 100Ah Li-ion cell in particular has an elliptic cylindrical shape, giving the battery excellent thermal and structural design. By using cobalt in production, these cells are also better at heat decomposition than other Li-ion cells using nickel. With other built-in safety features (Shunt Circuit and By-pass Switch), Mitsubishi Electric's Li-ion Battery is reliable enough to be used in the harsh conditions of space.