Zinc Batteries for California Electrical Customer Power Backup
Zelos Energy LTD
Recipient
San Leandro, CA
Recipient Location
9th
Senate District
20th
Assembly District
$1,412,830
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
As of March 2025, Zēlos Energy is nearing project completion having reached all of the project goals. The Zēlos team successfully developed battery prototypes achieving a performance level of 70Wh/Kg and 191 Wh/L for 500+ charge and discharge cycles. Prototype cells attained 78 to 82 percent energy efficiency and passed UN 38.3 performance testing for the T1 and T4 benchmarks (altitude and shock testing). Independent third-party analysis found the Zēlos carbon payback time - a measure of time required for emissions savings from the product’s use to offset the greenhouse gases of its production – to be six times shorter than comparative Li-ion battery technology and six to nine times shorter than lead acid batteries.
The Issue
California needs fully procurable energy options to fully enable solar and wind power as part of the state's goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045 (SB 100), and for renewable backup power. Li-ion battery technology continues to try and resolve certain safety concerns related to thermal runaway. Consumer gas generators use about 18 gallons of fuel per day. If 100,000 such generators are in use, our state will emit 18,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 24 hours. Gas generators also caused about 100 deaths in California from 2005 to 2017 due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Project Innovation
The purpose of this Agreement is to fund prototyping efforts of a novel rechargeable alkaline battery technology enabling reliable and safe energy storage solutions for different applications, including storage for renewable energy generation, long-term backup power, and micro-grid applications. This technology will bring long-life rechargeability to the alkaline battery chemistry and is environmentally benign, low-cost, and safe. The battery is built using water-based, non-flammable electrolytes and non-toxic earth-abundant electrode materials such as zinc (Zn) and manganese dioxide (MnO2). All materials are highly energy dense, non-toxic, safe, and low cost, and can recycle into agricultural fertilizer at end-of-life.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
The demonstrated cycling stability level of 400-600 cycles at very high rates translates to 1,500-2,000 cycles at standard rates and depth of discharge. This means that the cells could operate for two to three years (perhaps four to six years, depending on loading and duty) in a stationary storage system, assuming one charge-discharge per day (e.g., support of solar cells with charging during the day and discharging at night).
In applications requiring few discharges per month or year (such as backup power supplies), the system would not require maintenance or replacement for a decade or more.
The Long Duration Energy Storage System developed by the project team can provide energy to essential communities and production facilities, for food storage and preparation, medical needs, and communication. Distributed, customer-facing battery power has the potential to reduce human suffering during periods of power scarcity, and lessens the need for emergency travel, healthcare, and other various needs when electrical grid connections are not available.
The system designed for this project also avoids the safety and supply chain risks associated with Li-ion battery systems.
Reliability
This project will result in ratepayer benefits including supplying backup power with greater electricity reliability in our state, especially among the 2.7 million Californians in fire safety electrical outage risk areas and the 9 million in disadvantaged communities.
Safety
The technology Zēlos utilizes takes advantage of abundant materials (Zn and Mn) with fewer safety and supply chain risks than the elements needed for lithium-ion batteries, and the batteries can last ten years or longer for applications such as power backup and stationary energy storage.
Key Project Members
Sasha Gorer
Subrecipients
The Regents of California, San Diego
Strategen
The University of Newcastle
Lithiumion Expert Services LLC
Voltaiq
Boundless Impact Research & Analytics
Match Partners
Strategen
Zelos Energy LTD
The University of Newcastle
Lithiumion Expert Services LLC
UC San Diego- Center for Energy Research
Boundless Impact Research &
Analytics
