By Haresh B. Jhala:

AaTral Powering Nation Subratha Rajendran’s entrepreneurial journey did not begin with a business plan. It began in the Congo. During her deployment there as an ISRO scientist amid the COVID period, she encountered the human and environmental realities behind the minerals powering the global battery industry. The experience forced a difficult question: could technology be used to create a more positive impact? That question eventually took her from a distinguished scientific career to entrepreneurship—and the creation of Aatral Powering Nation.

THE ISRO MINDSET

Rajendran’s years at ISRO gave her more than technical expertise. They shaped a problem-solving philosophy that now influences her approach to business.

At ISRO, when a critical technology was unavailable, the answer was rarely to simply wait for someone else to build it. Engineers had to understand the problem, develop capabilities and create solutions.

For Rajendran, that experience established a principle that remains central to Aatral: indigenous innovation is not merely about replacing imports; it is about building capability around problems that matter.

That mindset became particularly relevant when she entered the energy-storage sector.

WHY SODIUM-ION?

Lithium-ion dominates the battery industry, but Rajendran does not see it as the only answer. She believes the world needs greater chemistry and supply-chain diversity, particularly because critical minerals can create strategic vulnerabilities.

This is where sodium-ion enters Aatral’s story.

Sodium is abundant and widely available. For stationary storage, telecom backup, renewable-energy integration and critical infrastructure, the priorities can be different from those of electric vehicles. Safety, cost stability, operational life and circularity become important considerations.

Rajendran therefore sees sodium-ion not as a fashionable alternative, but as a technology aligned with specific applications and customer requirements.

Aatral’s strategy is consequently not to imitate global battery giants. Its focus is on India-relevant battery systems, locally appropriate designs, circular hard-carbon materials and customised energy-storage and backup solutions.

The opportunity, in her view, lies in solving a clearly defined customer problem rather than competing for attention in an already crowded technology narrative.

THE HARDEST CURRENCY: TRUST

Developing the technology is only one part of building a deep-tech company. Rajendran identifies trust as one of the toughest challenges—trust among customers, investors, suppliers and strategic partners.

Deep technology takes time to prove. It requires capital, testing, validation and patience before commercial acceptance follows.

As a woman founder in a capital-intensive technology sector, Rajendran has also encountered the additional challenge of having to establish credibility in an environment where scepticism can be high.

She does not frame that experience as a complaint. Instead, she treats it as another reality of entrepreneurship: technology must eventually earn trust through evidence and execution.

LESSONS FOR FOUNDERS

Rajendran’s journey offers useful lessons beyond the battery industry.

First, institutional experience can become entrepreneurial capital. ISRO gave her discipline, scientific rigour and the confidence to tackle difficult problems.

Second, founders need not follow the loudest market narrative. The right technology is the one that addresses a genuine customer requirement.

Third, indigenous capability can become a strategic advantage when it solves a real supply-chain or technology gap.

Fourth, deep-tech entrepreneurship demands patience. Credibility cannot be manufactured through branding alone; it has to be built through performance.

And perhaps the most important lesson: a founder does not always need to compete with the biggest players on their terms. Finding a specific problem, understanding it deeply and building the right solution can create a different path to growth.

Rajendran’s journey from ISRO scientist to deep-tech founder is therefore not simply a career change. It is a story of how an unexpected experience can reshape purpose—and how scientific thinking can be converted into an entrepreneurial mission.