South Africa-based battery design and manufacturing company Mega Titan Power’s new vehicle starting battery technology has been certified by certification and test laboratory accreditation body Mining and Surface Certification (MASC) for use in underground mining operations.

Pretoria-based Mega Titan Power designs and manufactures batteries for heavy-duty use in mining, aviation and vehicles, among other sectors, having developed a safe battery technology capable of delivering high starting currents.

“This certification confirms that our battery meets the highest safety standards for underground environments. We are proud to receive our Sanas 1438:2018 mining certification,” says Mega Titan Power MD Daniel Haywood.

This major certification milestone for the company’s Titan40 DMB battery technology follows months of rigorous testing and assessments for use in underground mines.

Highlighting the battery’s resilience, he explains that it was subjected to nail penetration tests, projectile penetration tests, short circuit tests, as well as a forced discharge following the nail penetration test, to assess its strength.

“Nothing happened. The cell was fine,” he says, noting that a toxicity assessment was also performed, in which all the battery’s parts were set alight to analyse the vapour fumes released during combustion.

“In the certificate is a conclusion where it is stated that it does not matter what is done to the battery and the cells; [they] will not combust, explode or burn, which is absolutely critical for the mining industry, because they are always safety-first.”

Designed for high-risk, high-performance applications such as mining, aviation and military operations, the battery is engineered to deliver high starting currents while withstanding extreme temperatures from –40°C to +75°C. It is lighter, charges faster and lasts longer than any alternative and meets the strictest safety certifications.

Each unit offers up to 25 000 charge- discharge cycles, with lab-tested results showing 95% capacity retention at 19 000 cycles. The batteries require no maintenance, do not emit toxic fumes, and pose no risk of fire or explosion, even when damaged.

Prior to the MASC assessment, Mega Titan conducted ballistic tests on the battery with support from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, as well as from Armscor and its subsidiary, Gerotek.

“In one of our most telling tests, we shot the battery three times with armour-piercing incendiary rounds. After the third shot, the battery still delivered power.”

A normal lithium-ion phosphate chemistry-based battery, if pierced, typically explodes, he explains.

Since January, two of Mega Titan’s batteries have been operating in an underground gold mining company in South Africa as part of a trial. The tests are ongoing; however, the outcomes to date are positive, with expectations of further battery installations at the site.

Established by Haywood in 2017, the company developed and tested the new type of battery technology.

An new chapter began following a partnership with now-associate Brian Ferriera, who joined the company in 2024, bringing an extensive background in battery design and manufacturing.

“We successfully tested the battery on starting a helicopter,” Haywood says, adding that this subsequently led to two orders for Titan Box in October 2024.

Since then, the company has received many battery orders from the aviation industry.

This led to expanded research and development, and following increased uptake of the battery, an injection of fresh capital enabled rapid product development across multiple industries, including the design of a 12 V battery for starting Land Rovers and Land Cruisers, as well as other large engine applications.

The group also successfully started a V16 engine on a 2 MW diesel generator using one of its batteries.

Mega Titan remains active in the aviation sector, with a number of non-type-certified airplanes using its batteries, and the company is eyeing growth in the military industry.

“Nobody has ever found a safer battery. We make quite bold claims about our batteries: it is the strongest battery in the world,” Haywood concludes.