Multi-gigawatt manufacturing joint venture to produce next-gen battery
The Hi-Power ventue will use Eos’s non-flammable Znyth aqueous zinc battery technology with the manufacturing automation expertise from nuclear power speciliast Holtec.
The new plant will be located close to the Pittsburgh-based Holtec Manufacturing Division (HMD), which custom manufactures capital equipment for the global power industry. Small scale production has been successfully demonstrated and large scale production is expected to begin in late November.
The aqueous zinc battery systems will be used to store surplus power from Holtec’s SMR-160 small modular reactors to deliver power to the grid during peak periods of demand. “We are excited to partner with Holtec to establish a world-class manufacturing facility and also work together to bring our DC system to Holtec’s existing customer base,” said Joe Mastrangelo, Chief Executive Officer of Eos.
The modular Eos batteries are zinc hybrid cathodes, which provide a safe, sustainable and scalable alternative to their lithium ion counterpart; they also operate across a wide temperature range without cooling and the risk of fire or explosion. The current generation batteries feature over four hours of energy delivery from 100 percent charge to full discharge and can operate in -15ºC to 45ºC temperature range without thermal conditioning. Additionally, the batteries are comprised of high-volume core commodity components, use no rare earth materials and are fully recyclable.
Holtec’s engineers will also work with Eos on the next generation of zinc battery using of Computational Fluid Mechanics and automation systens.
“We have entered the battery industry to provide the means to store large quantities of electrical energy from nuclear, solar and other renewable energy generation facilities and deliver power to the user on demand. The availability of a suitably sized battery-powered energy storage plant will make our SMR-160 reactor even more valuable to our customers. To cut unit production cost, we plan to expand our facility as warranted by the demands of the market,” said Dr Kris Singh, President and CEO of Holtec International.
Holtec will also collaborate with Eos in sales and marketing of the aqueous zinc battery systems.
“Although we continue to invest in our nuclear business and believe in the future of our small modular reactor program for low carbon baseload energy, we recognize that renewables must also play a critical role in reducing carbon emissions going forward. A key limitation of renewables has been variability in production, which can be levelized with the DC battery system, helping drive a fundamental shift in the renewables market,” said Dr. Rick Springman, Holtec’s Vice President of International Projects.
The Znyth aqueous zinc battery technology has been tested over 15 million hours and two million test cycles, and Eos has already produced over 3,000 batteries for industrial, utilities and micro-grid applications across four continents.
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