Main area of works of the lab include research and development of high energy materials and related technologies.
HEMRL has a core strength of 600 personnel, comprising chemists, physicists, mathematicians, chemical, mechanical and electronic engineers.
[1] ERDL was renamed as HEMRL in March 1995 in order to emphasise its work in all aspects of high energy materials research.
HEMRL is the main DRDO laboratory and one of the few labs in India that is involved in basic and applied research in all areas of high energy materials.
Design and development of pilot plants for synthesis of high energy materials and related non-explosive chemicals is also carried out.
In addition to a number of laboratory analytical instruments, HEMRL has state-of-the-art research and production facilities for the study of explosive, propellant and pyrotechnic phenomena.
CL-20, so named after the China Lake facility of the Naval Air Weapons Station in California, US, was first synthesised by Dr Arnold Nielson in 1987.