American-based flow battery developer ViZn Energy is to seek $25m to expand its manufacturing capacity.
The company told Bloomberg it expects to increase its zinc-iron flow battery production during the next six months. $25m should be “enough” to get the ViZn fully funded. “We’ll be on our way to just pure execution until we’re cash-flow positive,” said ViZn’s chief executive Ron Van Dell.
ViZn’s battery packs are mainly attached to microgrids and are designed to last two to four hours. Van Dell did not want to reveal the amount of production or his potential customers. The production will take place in Europe and the US.
“As we’re stepping up into production, and a sales ramp, we needed to have a different level of fundraising,” he said and added: “The time for debt, probably more venture debt, is when you’ve got real production and a sales ramp, a few quarters’ worth behind you. For us, that’s probably a year from now.” The company raised earlier $19m in equity, mostly from individuals.
ViZn’s Z20 zinc redox flow battery was recently awarded the Electrical Energy Storage award at Intersolar Europe in Munich, Germany. The research for its flow battery was funded by the US Department of Energy.
