Holtec International has formed a multi-gigawatt manufacturing joint venture with Eos Energy Storage to produce the latter’s next generation of aqueous zinc batteries.
The joint venture called Hi-Power, will make use of Eos’ automated battery manufacturing design and Holtec’s over 30 years of automation and manufacturing experience. It will build a battery manufacturing facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Eos CEO Joe Mastrangelo said: “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 in addition to meeting the rapid global growth of battery storage.”
The batteries of Eosare zinc hybrid cathodes that provide a safe, scalable and sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries. They are claimed to operate across a wide temperature range without HVAC.
The batteries of Eos, which have more than four hours of energy, are capable of 100% charge and full discharge and also can operate in temperatures ranging from -15 °C to 45 °C without heating or cooling. The units do not use rare earth materials and are fully recyclable.
Holtec’s vice president of international projects Rick Springman said: “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.”
Holtec became a shareholder in Eos Energy Storage in 2018
In September 2018, US-based energy technology company Holtec International had acquired a significant equity stake in Eos. The partnership was expected to support commercialisation of the Gen2 Eos Aurora DC battery system and help to set up an automated manufacturing facility in the US.
Founded in 2009, Eos is said to have conducted over 15 million hours and two million test cycles in developing its Znyth DC battery system. The firm has produced over 3,000 batteries for industrial, utilities and micro-grid applications across four continents.
