{EV Enabler: Bry-Air} This Made in India dry room tech supplier caters to the EV battery manufacturing market

This dehumidification solutions leader is primed to lead the Indian Electric Vehicles (EV) opportunity with local manufacturing of lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries through their patented dry room technology.

In India, the adoption of EV has more chances of growing with commercial vehicles rather than with passenger vehicles, as commercial vehicles have been predicted to have a market share of 70% by 2030 as per DataLabs.

Moreover, because of the pandemic, consumers are showing more interest in self-owned vehicles instead of travelling in passenger vehicles because of the risk factor associated.

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A close look at EV development in India shows a significant rise in the space in two-wheeler and four-wheeler launches from automobile giants, local players, and startups alike. There are several factors that have contributed to this growth and many EV players believe that these factors will eventually lead to the exponential growth of EVs across the country.

Apart from this, E-rickshaws have emerged as a big market in India. However, the market is highly unorganized and based on lead-acid batteries. As per a report from Avendus Capital, the market is expected to rapidly shift to li-ion batteries, with 40% of e-rickshaws to be operating on li-ion by FY25.

This indicates the imperative need for manufacturing li-ion batteries within India, and not just assembling by importing cells.

Bry-Air, a flagship company of Pahwa Group and a leader in dehumidification solutions is primed to lead the Indian EV opportunity with local manufacturing of lithium cells. With over five decades of experience in applications, manufacturing, engineering, and R&D in the field of dehumidification and environment control solutions, with subsidiaries in China, Malaysia, Brazil, Nigeria and Switzerland, and an associate plant in the USA, the manufacturing company is confident of leading the li-ion manufacturing effort.

Currently, while batteries are being made in India by importing cells, the government has been actively discussing development of the capacity to manufacture cells in India for the last two years. Bry-Air (Asia) has developed and patented a technology for producing ultra-low dry air, which brings the two technologies of dehumidification and creation of dry room together for all the companies invested in cell manufacturing in India.

The Tech Panda spoke to Deepak Pahwa, Managing Director of Bry-Air (Asia) about their efforts in making India a local li-ion battery manufacturer.

As a key industry stakeholder working in the transformative mobility and energy storage space, Bry-Air is well equipped as a made in India dry room technology supplier offering patented solutions to cater to the growing EV battery manufacturing market

“As a key industry stakeholder working in the transformative mobility and energy storage space, Bry-Air is well equipped as a made in India dry room technology supplier offering patented solutions to cater to the growing EV battery manufacturing market,” he says.

He explains that lithium battery manufacturing is a critical process that requires ultra-low dew point conditions for production. The production of the li-ion cells, which are further bundled to create a battery, is a critical part and all plants in India only have the capacity to assemble batteries, not produce them. The production of these cells requires dry rooms with environment control equipment, which can help achieve < 1% RH conditions.

“Bry-Air Dry Room solutions are critical for lithium battery production, and we are today the world’s fastest-growing adsorption technology group in the world. Now, whatever we plan on doing has to be on the back of local manufacturing of one essential item – the battery, which is a composition of cells,” he says.

The Group has filed 123 international patent applications in 13 new technologies (since 2007), of which 54 patents have been granted/allowed already.

“Bry-Air’s products are made with pride in India – for India and the world,” he adds proudly.

Aiding EV Battery Aggregators and Manufacturers

The company has been providing environment control solutions (patented Green DryPurge Dehumidifiers) to EV battery aggregators and manufacturers in India and the world, including China.

Bry-Air’s products are made with pride in India – for India and the world

They are supplying highly advanced, goof-proof Dry Rooms to battery makers. Some of their notable work in this space is building a full demo capability compact Dry Room for lithium battery production at their Gurgaon plant, delivery of the first commercial Dry Room capable of maintaining (-) 65°C dewpoint commissioned for BHEL India, and partnering with leading battery manufacturer, Amara Raja, for their dry room requirements to develop lithium-ion cells at Tirupati, India.

Bry-Air BrySmart Series Dehumidifiers

In the last few years, businesses have been through a transformation while researching new technologies to make India future ready. Believing in the same proposition, the company has launched their Bry-Air BrySmart® Series (BBS) Dehumidifiers.

Embedded with patented BrySmart® technology, these dehumidifiers integrate 4.0 based concepts that reduce annual energy consumption by up to 48%. This latest product offering is designed for continuously optimizing Dynamic Specific Performance (DSP) and incorporates BHP (Bry-Air High Performance) rotor with special geometry and chemistry.

The BBS modulates various critical components to optimize energy consumption on a continuous basis. This technology is a step forward in energy conservation through enhanced automation.

With efficient energy becoming a national cause, R&D has taken a more significant place in coming out with products that are futuristic and cater to the needs of industry

Other than lowering energy usage and maintenance cost, these dehumidifiers run on green tech, incorporating BHP™ Technology that customizes rotor to deliver an additional energy saving of up to 20% by reducing initial react energy input for the equivalent performance of standard dehumidifiers.

“These energy-smart dehumidifiers can continuously sense and monitor temperature at varying locations, thus providing data for continually optimizing performance and furthering the cause of saving energy while delivering value to customers and staying ahead of the curve,” explains Pahwa.

The dehumidifiers can be remotely monitored and controlled and have an optional Bry-Air Prognos™ feature, an advanced tool for predictive maintenance.

Manufacturing to Conserve Energy

Apart from Bry-Air´s participation in India’s EV push, the company is also a preferred partner for battery manufacturers/assemblers. With moisture control being the most critical aspect of li-ion batteries while manufacturing, the availability of cost-effective, energy-saving solutions is where Bry-Air has a major role to play.

“We aim to reduce energy consumption and conserve energy for future purposes. Our objective is to focus on sustainable development, and with the help of our various patented energy smart technologies, we provide dehumidifiers and other latest solution offerings to manufacturers for their varied and complex quality air requirements,” Pahwa says.

Our objective is to focus on sustainable development, and with the help of our various patented energy smart technologies, we provide dehumidifiers and other latest solution offerings to manufacturers for their varied and complex quality air requirements

Their patented Green DryPurge® (GDP) has played a key role in li-Ion battery manufacturing across the world and has helped manufacturers in creating the required environmental control to make quality, safe, and long-lasting batteries.

Also, their ultra-low dew point GDP dehumidifiers have been benchmarked for world-class moisture control. They are cost-effective and highly energy-efficient, making them a value proposition for any manufacturer.

Industry 4.0 Compliant and Developing Innovative Solutions

Bry-Air and its other group companies manufacture advanced energy recovery systems. All their products play a crucial role in energy consumption and savings.

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“With efficient energy becoming a national cause, R&D has taken a more significant place in coming out with products that are futuristic and cater to the needs of industry. Bry-Air understands the need to be industry 4.0 compliant, and the need for developing innovative solutions,” says Pahwa.

“We are the fastest growing adsorption technology in the world. We work in some of the latest materials breakthrough (new material sciences) and continuously innovate to enhance the quality air requirements of our customers across diversified industries,” he concludes.