Zinc joins the battery race in the US

Urban Electric Power, on the other hand, has a battery assembling factory in Pearl River, New York, and supplies both homes and commercial clients through its Ohm label, and utility-scale infrastructure projects through its Zeus label.

The firm’s alkaline zinc manganese dioxide battery has been in development since 2012 by researchers at City College of New York. It is considered fire-safe for indoor installations in cities as it isn’t subject to thermal runaway, a common issue in lithium-ion batteries. It is also considered ESG-friendlier than its lithium counterparts as it doesn’t contain the white metal, cobalt or lead.

The battery has been tested and proven for large-scale uses such as in the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and at commercial-industrial locations to offer backup power and dispatchable energy storage to the power grid.

“We’re excited to partner with Urban Electric Power to bring zinc alkaline batteries, a familiar household item, and apply it towards grid-connected utility-scale applications for our customers across the United States,” Raafe Khan, director of energy storage at Pine Gate Renewables, said in a media statement. “We are committed to supporting our partners and customers with safe, domestically manufactured, scalable, reliable, and durable solutions that they can connect with for their storage needs.”