A 100kW/1.5MWh demonstration zinc-air energy storage system, or ZESS, will be installed in Queens, New York, to demonstrate the technology’s long-duration energy storage capabilities.
Canadian battery developer Zinc8 Energy Solutions has developed a unique flow battery technology using zinc and air as fuel which the company claims is able to provide power in the range of 20kW to 50MW with capacity of 8 hours of storage duration or higher.
The modular zinc-air energy storage system (ZESS) can be configured to support a wide array of long-duration applications for microgrids and utilities. Moreover, with the ZESS energy storage capacity determined only by the size of the zinc storage tank, the technology offers a potentially hugely cost-effective and scalable storage solution that could server as a viable alternative to the fixed power/energy ratio of the traditional lithium-ion battery.
The 100kW/1.5MWh demonstration ZESS will be installed at the Fresh Meadows Community Apartments in Queens, New York, thanks to a deployment agreement signed between Zinc8 and Digital Energy Corp, a New York based private sector developer of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants, solar systems and microgrids.
The demonstration project is also being funded in part by a grant from The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) worth $US460,400 ($A634,000).
The ZESS will support and enhance of economics of a CHP system already under construction at the Fresh Meadows Apartments which will be integrated with an existing solar system.
“We continue to strengthen our position in the state of New York with the support of organizations like Digital Energy Corp and NYSERDA,” said Ron MacDonald, president and CEO of Zinc8 Energy Solutions.
“The signing of this host site agreement is another important milestone for Zinc8, and we are looking forward to collaborating with Digital Energy Corp. on this exciting project owned by one of New York’s most prestigious and well-known real estate management companies.
“This an opportunity for Zinc8 to further develop a pipeline of projects and establish a foothold in the New York City market.”
Zinc8’s ZESS uses power from the grid or a renewable energy source to generate zinc particles in what the company describes as the “Zinc Regenerator”, which releases oxygen into the atmosphere as a by-product.
Zinc particles are then moved to the storage tank and maintained in a potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte unit until required. Whenever power is needed, the zinc particles are then delivered to the power stack and recombined with oxygen to generate electricity.
The zinc oxide (ZnO) by-product from this process is then returned to the storage tank for later regeneration.
Zinc8 claims that it’s ZESS has “completely decoupled the linkage between energy and power” which means that “scaling Zinc8’s technology can be accomplished by simply increasing the size of the fuel tank and quantity of recharged zinc fuel.”
This further means that capital costs are significantly reduced as compared to traditional lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, and even other flow storage technologies such as Vanadium Redox Flow.
“Digital Energy and Integrated Energy Concepts are excited about working with Zinc8 Energy on the deployment of the Zinc8 Energy Storage system at Fresh Meadows Apartments,” said William Cristofaro, President and CEO of Digital Energy Corp.and Energy Concepts.
“Zinc8’s energy storage system offers a safe, robust and economic solution and we welcome the opportunity to showcase their systems to our customer network.”
The signed deployment agreement will also see Zinc8 and Digital Energy work together on identifying other potential projects in the New York market.
