Micelio-backed electric mobility start-up Cell Propulsion has inaugurated its pilot production plant in for the manufacturing, assembly, and testing of lithium-ion battery packs.

Founded by Nakul Kukar, Paras Kaushal and Supratim Naskar, Cell Propulsion builds and deploys electric commercial vehicles (e-LCVs and e-HCVs) as part of its integrated solution. At present, the start-up is said to be working on Oryx Electric (e-LCV) and Beluga Electric (e-bus) that can attain top speed of 60kph and 80kph respectively. The start-up says the maximum output capacity of the battery plant is 500kW-hr per month and the battery packs will be installed in its upcoming e-LCVs.

According to Cell Propulsion, the battery system for commercial vehicle application is a very different design problem compared to the design of battery packs for passenger vehicles or light vehicles. It states it has successfully engineered a reliable system, for the purposes of both light and heavy commercial vehicles, which is modular, robust and has simple implementation. It has employed novel design approaches to develop battery systems that will consider safety, thermal performance, structural loads, power delivery and modularity. The BMS designed by Cell Propulsion implements proprietary algorithms for state estimation of battery packs – typically for charge and health.

The company says the commissioning of the pilot line for producing automotive-grade (AIS-48 certified) battery packs is a major milestone in its journey to deploy e-LCVs for its customers.