New Delhi | A Hyderabad-based start-up soon plans to demonstrate cold fusion technology to generate electricity in space, a move aimed at increasing the life of satellites in orbits and at the same time making them lighter.

The start-up -- Hylenr Technologies-- has tied up with another fledgling firm TakeMe2Space's satellites to test its low energy nuclear reactor (LENR) that uses hydrogen fusion to generate electricity.

The unique feature of cold fusion is that it generates more power than is consumed to trigger fusion reactions.

"For every 100 watts of input energy, the LENR generates 178 watts of output thermal energy," Siddhartha Durairajan, founder and CEO of Hylenr Technologies told PTI.

He said the company has booked rides on Skyroot and ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

"Our product is ready. We are waiting for the launch platform. So, based on their launch dates, we will have our products there," Durairajan said.

TakeMe2Space is building in-space compute infrastructure which could be used to operate data centres in space

"The graphics processing units (GPUs) on cubesats generate a lot of heat. We are trying to harness that heat and convert it into a usable form of energy across the satellite," he said.

"This could open new possibilities for long-duration missions and off-grid power solutions in space," Durairajan said.

Ronak Kumar Samantray, founder of TakeMe2Space, said his firm was exploring multiple energy technologies, including LENR, to assess efficient methods for heat extraction and potential reuse in its compute-focused satellites.

Hylenr holds a patent from the government for its Low Energy Nuclear Reactor Technology, which amplifies input electricity to produce heat for space applications, steam generation for multiple applications, room heating across cold regions globally, and induction heating for domestic and industrial requirements.

"Validating our LENR technology in space is a crucial milestone, and TakeMe2Space's platform and expertise provides the perfect opportunity to test our system in a real operational environment," Durairajan said.

For any satellite, 40-60 per cent of the weight is taken up by the power harness that includes the solar panels, batteries and other equipment.

Hylenr's cold fusion device and the power harness solution of TakeMe2Space are trying to provide power solutions to satellites in space.

"We are creating a power harness solution for the entire edge computing industry. Data centres in space will become a reality very soon," Durairajan said.

Accomplishing this goal will help deliver a compact, long-lasting, and clean energy source for space-based computing, possibly enabling: Long-duration missions. high-power computing in space, reduced reliance on solar power or other energy sources.