Rechargeable alkaline battery system to help power Europe zinc plant

New York-based alkaline battery manufacturer Urban Electric Power announced on Wednesday that it had supplied the first such battery system in Europe to none other than its own zinc powder supplier.

Urban Electric Power said that it has supplied a 20kWh battery energy storage system to EverZinc’s zinc oxide production plant in Eijsden, in the Netherlands — the very same factory that provides the zinc powder used in the battery.

“This is our first European installation, and one of several high-profile installations we’ll be announcing in the coming months,” said Sanjoy Banerjee, founder, executive chairman and CEO of Urban Electric Power.

“Supporting solar power is one of many applications for which our products are cleaner, safer, and more affordable than other available technologies.”

The rechargeable alkaline battery technology – which relies on the same zinc manganese-dioxide chemistry found in the familiar household AA battery – will be paired with a 6kW solar PV system and is intended to be the first of several systems to be installed for EverZinc, who are looking to reduce emissions across their building portfolio by using solar and storage.

“The installation of a battery energy storage system in one of our plants demonstrates EverZinc’s commitment to accelerate the adoption of zinc-based technologies,” said Vincent Dujardin, CEO of EverZinc.

“Furthermore, this project is fully aligned with our vision to reduce the carbon footprint of the zinc materials produced in our premises in the coming years.”

“Enersol aims to offer the most sustainable and performant energy storage technology to its customers, and we believe zinc batteries have the potential to meet both of these objectives,” added Samuel Bragard, CEO of Enersol, the company selected for system installation and commissioning.

“This is why we are excited to partner with EverZinc and Urban Electric Power on this first-of-its-kind project.”

Urban Electric Power also announced on Wednesday that it had been accepted by cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services into its Clean Energy Accelerator 2.0 program, as one of only 12 innovative start-ups selected from a total of 424 applicants in 58 countries.

“Urban Electric Power Urban Electric Power’s battery provides a low-cost, safe energy storage alternative that uses Zinc,” said Howard Gefen, general manager of AWS’ Energy Industry Business Unit.

“At scale, UEP can produce batteries one third of the lowest cost estimates for lithium batteries by 2030.

“The selected startups will receive guidance in accelerating experimentation, expanding automation, and delivering deeper insights—using the cloud. Over the next five weeks, we’ll immerse these innovators with hands-on technical training in capabilities like machine learning, analytics, and high-performance computing.”