Chennai-based space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos secures patent for its 3D-printed rocket engine

From left: AgniKul Cosmos co-founder and COO Moin SPM and CEO Srinath Ravichandran

Chennai-based space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos has secured a patent from the Indian government for its full-scale second-stage engine Agnilet, which they claim is the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine.

Unlike other rocket engines, Agnilet has been made in one go, without thousands of parts that are typically assembled in a conventional rocket engine. It was successfully test fired in early 2021, the startup said.

Earlier, Moneycontrol was the first to report that the startup was going to apply a patent for this engine.

Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul, said, “Rocket engines usually have 1000s of parts in them - starting from injectors that inject fuel into the engine, to the cooling channels that cool the engine, to the igniter that is necessary to ignite the propellants.”

“Designing Agnilet as a single piece of hardware has not been an easy ride, but our team has proved it to be otherwise,” he added.

Founded in 2017 by Wall Street trader-turned-aerospace engineer Srinath Ravichandran, operations specialist Moin SPM and IIT Madras professor SR Chakravarthy, Agnikul recently announced the inauguration of its Rocket Factory- 1, a facility dedicated to 3D print such rocket engines at scale situated at the IIT Madras Research Park.

Currently it is in the process of building the country’s first private small satellite rocket, Agnibaan that will be capable of carrying upto 100 kg of payload to low Earth orbits upto 700 km.

As of now the startup has raised total funding of $15 million from Mayfield India, pi Ventures, Speciale Invest and other angel investors such as Anand Mahindra and so on. According to reports, Agnikul is currently raising further funds.