Outer Space is Familiar Turf for EG Battery Maker

Some businesses shoot for the moon.

At Yardeny Technical Products in East Greenwich, Mars is the celestial body being targeted.

Last week, the unmanned Orion spacecraft blasted into space from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and successfully launched a new chapter in America’s space program.

The safe return of a capsule into the Pacific Ocean demonstrating NASA’s capabilities as it prepares to send humans to asteroids and Mars.

And four batteries manufactured here in EG by Yardeny played a role on the flight of the Orion spacecraft, and President and Chief Operating Officer Vincent A. Yevoli said everything seemed to work without a hitch.

“The good news is nobody from Lockheed Martin contacted us,” he told the Providence Journal. “If there was a problem, we would have known by now.”

Yardney specializes in high-demand, high-capacity batteries used in government programs, including several space missions, like the Mars Rover mission, which is going on strong -- 11 years later.

Yadney moved to East Greenwich from Pawcatuck, Conn., in 2013 after buying the building at 2000 South County Trail.

The company has grown since then, itself acquiring Alcan Ltd. and Whittaker Corporation’s power systems division, which developed silver-zinc batteries for tactical missiles.

Other programs that have used Yardney batteries include the Air Force B-2 Bomber and Global Hawk/Triton reconnaissance aircraft, the NASA Phoenix Mars Lander mission and an advance all-electric mini-submarine for the U.S. Navy.

Last month, Yardney was acquired by Cleveland, Ohio-based OM Group for $24 million in cash and will now operate under the technology company’s EaglePicher battery business.

OM Group announced earlier this month and company officials said in a release that the arrangement will be mutually beneficial for OM Group and Yardney, which brings advance lithium-ion technology and capabilities to OM Group and gives Yardney “a foothold into critical defense programs that are expected to grow at attractive rates.”