Episode 156 | Reliably Rechargeable | Zinc Battery Initiative
I am a huge fan of diversity—energy diversity. When it comes to storage, lithium still makes up a huge share of the storage we are currently developing, whether it be electric vehicles or large, grid-scale batteries.
The Zinc Battery Initiative hopes to convince everyone that rechargeable zinc batteries are up to the task. The program was founded in 2020 by the International Zinc Association and currently has eleven members (ZincFive and Urban Electric Power were featured in Episode 130. Enzinc's underlying “zinc sponge technology was profiled in Episode 56).
Dr. Josef Daniel-Ivad, Manager of the ZBI, says the new generation of rechargeable batteries have several advantages to lithium-ion technologies. He says they have high performance, low cost, temperature safety, an abundant/conflict-free supply, sustainable, and are recyclable.
You have been using zinc alkaline batteries your whole life. Josef says the rechargeability is still new to many investors and developers.
“In the past, zinc got a bad rap because the old zinc-based batteries had a short cycle life,” he says. “That is something our members have overcome.”
Not all zinc technologies are the same. For instance, zinc bromide batteries are at the low end of energy density but have a lot of longevity and endurance. A nickel-zinc type would be the most energy-dense. A manganese-zinc system is “middle of the road,” about 70-100-watt-hours per kilo.
While lithium-ion batteries have a clear energy density advantage, Josef says that zinc can come close in a few instances. He says nickel-zinc can rival lithium iron phosphate, without the concerns of flammability. He says while zinc may not be as energy dense on the cell level, the technology can make up some of the loss at the pack level.
“The battery management system is simpler,” he says. “You don’t need extra heating and cooling. On a pack level you can achieve very competitive numbers with chemistries that are very energy-dense on a cell level, but more risky.”
Josef says zinc is far more abundant than lithium or some of its complementary minerals like cobalt or nickel. While China produces and consumes more zinc than any other country, China does not dominate the supply chain, and mines its own supply domestically.
“We are there as the voice for the zinc battery developers and the capital market people/financiers that zinc is a viable option.”
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