High Energy Batteries (India) is a maker of specialised, high-power batteries for missiles, torpedoes, fighter jets and satellites - the kind where failure is not an option. It was born in 1979 from a technology transfer with an American firm to build silver-zinc batteries for the Indian Air Force’s MIG aircraft, and has since expanded across all three defence services and the space programme through decades of in-house design. The recurring approach is to own the entire product lifecycle for a handful of strategic customers: it designs, develops, manufactures and supports custom electrochemical systems under long, classified government contracts where the price of silver - its main raw material - is mostly the customer’s problem, not the company’s. # Business segments Two engines, one dormant - a defence-and-space battery franchise that supplies the Navy, Army, Air Force and ISRO, and a suspended commercial lead-acid unit that no longer contributes. ## 1. Aerospace, Naval and Power System Batteries: the company’s reason for being **It designs and builds custom, high-rate batteries for India’s strategic defence platforms, earning revenue through multi-year government contracts where the customer largely absorbs the cost of silver.** - **Powered by three chemistries** - the mainstay is silver-zinc, used in torpedo propulsion, satellite launch vehicles and battle tanks; nickel-cadmium batteries serve Indian Railways locomotives; and seawater-activated silver-chloride-magnesium batteries power lightweight torpedoes and underwater acoustic devices. - **Paid on inspection, not delivery** - revenue is recognised only when the customer issues an inspection note and the goods reach a common carrier, while development-cum-supply contracts follow milestone-based billing over time. - **The silver clause is the moat** - a price-variation clause in defence contracts means the customer bears the brunt of silver-price swings, so the company’s margin is insulated from its biggest raw-material cost. - **Sixty percent comes from the sea** - the Navy and naval research labs account for roughly three-fifths of Aerospace and Naval segment revenue, with DRDO labs and defence public-sector units making up another 15% and aerospace the rest. - **Orders are lumpy by design** - procurement cycles have stretched from 4-5 years to 6-7 years or more because mid-life technical upgrades, developed through in-house R&D, extend the life of the platforms these batteries go into. ## 2. Lead Acid Batteries: a commercial business on hold **The company retains the facility to make automotive and standby lead-acid batteries, but has not produced them since April 2019 because cut-throat retail competition made prices unviable.** - **Dormant since 2019** - operations remain suspended, the division generates negligible revenue and its segment assets are minimal. - **Kept on the books** - it is still reported as a separate business segment, but it is operationally idle and not a contributor to the company’s current story. # Emerging technology platforms **A portfolio of next-generation energy systems - lithium-ion packs, vanadium flow batteries and hydrogen electrolysers - is being built with external funding and research partnerships, aiming to open a second act beyond defence.** - **Lithium-ion integration, not cell-making** - the company assembles battery packs with its own battery management systems and electronics, and has deployed solar street lights using lithium cells for field evaluation in its home village of Mathur. - **A flow battery ready for tenders** - a 10 kW / 50 kWh vanadium redox flow battery has been completed, scaled up from an earlier 1 kW module demonstrated with IIT Chennai, and the company is now pursuing solar-storage tenders. - **Electrolyser ambitions** - the company has bid for the balance-of-plant of a 60 kW PEM electrolyser and plans to develop both alkaline and PEM-based hydrogen electrolysers, with an oil major already approaching it to partner on 100 kW-plus hydrogen generation units. # Group structure and partners **A standalone public company with no subsidiaries, backed by a South Indian business house and a long-tenured board that includes a nominee from India’s largest insurer.** - The company belongs to the Esvin Group and has no subsidiaries, joint ventures or associates. - The eight-member board includes four independent directors, two executive directors, a non-executive chairman and one nominee director. - Managing Director Dr. G.A. Pathanjali has been re-appointed for a further period of three years with effect from 1st April, 2026 to 31st March, 2029. - The company’s equity investments include listed shares in Seshasayee Paper and Boards and Ponni Sugars (Erode), while two unquoted holdings in Esvin Advanced Technologies and GPC Technologies have been fully written down. - Its bankers are UCO Bank and Punjab National Bank, with a long-term credit rating of IND BBB/Stable from India Ratings & Research. - The stock, with a face value of ₹2 after a 2022 sub-division, is listed on BSE and held by 22,530 shareholders.