Zinc8 Energy Solutions has signed an 11-month contract to demonstrate its zinc-air energy storage system capabilities against a traditional generator set.
The Canadian firm’s 10kW/80kWh long-duration energy storage system will be tested for resilient backup application, and undergo assessment tests to address unique use cases in data centres.
The $200,000 project will provide a demonstration of the performance of the company’s technology, combined with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), to be compared with the performance of a traditional generator set.
The initial demonstration will be operated in standby and black started.
The long-term goal is to swap the generator and configure the UPS with combined DC sources that includes long-duration energy storage from Zinc8.
The Zinc8 ESS is based upon patented zinc-air battery technology that stores energy in the form of zinc particles, similar in size to grains of sand.
When the system is delivering power, the zinc particles are combined with oxygen drawn from the surrounding air.
When the system is recharging, zinc particles are regenerated, and oxygen is returned to the surrounding air.