Nickel-zinc battery R&D facility ready to disrupt market

ZAF’s team of scientists and engineers at the 8,000-square-foot facility are developing the company’s proprietary nickel-zinc (NiZn) battery technologies with an emphasis on continued performance improvements and cost reduction. The facility is located near Montana State University and will have a working public-private partnership with the university for advanced research.

Randy Moore, ZAF president and CEO, said: “The research to be done at our new facility is critical not only to making further performance and cost improvements to our current products but will also keep us ahead of the market for zinc battery technologies.” 

The new R&D facility complements the company’s 35,000-square-foot low rate initial production (LRIP) facility that opened in 2017 in Joplin, Missouri, where the company’s nickel-zinc (NiZn) cells and batteries are being produced.  

NiZn batteries have potential uses in a range of applications including automotive, heavy trucking, remote telecomms, renewable energy, and marine. According to the company, NiZn batteries are poised to disrupt the $50 billion conventional lead-acid battery market with their ability to provide twice the storage capacity and three times the power of legacy lead-acid batteries in a smaller, lighter package. They provide a powerful and affordable alternative to their lead-acid counterparts while generating a lower environmental impact.