Swedish startup Enerpoly has opened the world's first megafactory for zinc-ion batteries. Its vision is to develop a better alternative to lithium-ion batteries to store renewable energy for longer periods of time.
The Enerpoly Production Innovation Center (EPIC) facility is located north of Stockholm. Commissioning has already begun and the plant is expected to produce the first zinc-ion batteries next year. The company is aiming for a maximum production capacity of 100 MWh by 2026 – enough energy to power around 20,000 households.
Enerpoly's new zinc-ion mega-factory on the outskirts of Sweden. Photo credit: Enerpoly
In 2018, Dr. Mylad Chamoun made a breakthrough in the chemistry of zinc-ion batteries while pursuing his PhD at Stockholm University. Later that year, he teamed up with his former colleague Dr. Samir Nameer and the duo founded Enerpoly. The partners saw a gaping gap in the market where lithium-ion batteries were not competitive – they offered energy storage for 2 to 10 hours. They believed that zinc-ion batteries could fill this gap.
How zinc-ion batteries work
The use of zinc in batteries is nothing new. The AA batteries that power your most valuable (read: junk) toys and gadgets are made of zinc and manganese oxide. This chemistry has made companies like Energizer and Duracell a lot of money.
However, zinc-ion batteries have historically been, for lack of a better word, poor at charging. This is because zinc-ion batteries are plagued by dendrites – crystals that cause short circuits. They also lose capacity quickly.
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“Enerpoly has innovated the entire zinc-ion battery system – including anode, cathode, electrolyte and separator design – to solve these inherent problems,” the company's CEO, MIT-trained aerospace engineer Eloisa da Castro, told TNW.
Dr. Mylad Chamoun (left), Eloisa da Castro and Dr. Samir Nameer. Photo credit: Enerpoly
Enerpoly uses zinc metal for the battery's anode, manganese dioxide for the cathode and a water-based electrolyte to transport charged particles between the two sides.
Unlike lithium, zinc is abundant worldwide. In addition, Sweden has Europe's largest zinc reserves – about 2% of the world's total. Enerpoly hopes to build a fully European supply chain for its batteries and turn the continent into a “zinc-ion powerhouse.”
Zinc ions for energy storage
Unlike lithium-ion battery developers, Enerpoly is targeting the energy storage market – not electric vehicles and smartphones. Use cases include storing renewable energy, shifting energy loads on the grid and increasing power outage reliability – within the storage limit of 2 to 10 hours.
The batteries are modular – multiple packs can be connected in parallel to form larger systems. The company claims the packs are non-toxic, non-flammable and non-explosive.
Because the materials they use are much more common, Enerpoly believes they can compete cost-wise with countless other energy storage technologies under development in the short to medium term. These include lithium-ion batteries, thermal storage, liquid air batteries, iron flow batteries, gravity batteries, and even this CO2 dome.
And investors seem to agree. So far, the company has raised almost 15 million euros. More than 8 million of this came from the Swedish Energy Agency for the construction of the EPIC factory.
CEO Da Castro told TNW that the company also plans to close its Series A this year as it aims to reach its 100 MWh target in 2026. In July, Enerpoly acquired state-of-the-art dry electrode manufacturing equipment from bankrupt startup Nilar, which it will use in its new plant. After 2026, the startup is eyeing its first gigafactory.
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