CEC awards $1.6M to Enzinc for zinc battery R&D aimed at grid reliability
As California races to meet its clean energy goals while shoring up grid resilience, advanced battery innovators like Enzinc are gaining traction — and public investment.
The Richmond-based zinc battery developer has been awarded $1.62 million from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to accelerate research and development of its proprietary zinc electrode technology. The competitive grant is part of the CEC’s Energy Storage Innovations to Support Grid Reliability program, which is distributing up to $30 million in total funding through the state’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) initiative.
“As the demand for safe, scalable, and sustainable energy storage solutions grows, this award reinforces the critical role zinc-based technologies can play in ensuring a resilient grid,” said Dr. Michael Galluzzo, chief scientist at Enzinc.
Focus: safe, scalable alternatives for grid-scale storage
Enzinc’s funded project — titled Advanced Zn Electrode to Enable Rechargeable Alkaline Zinc Batteries for a More Resilient Grid — will focus on demonstrating how rechargeable alkaline zinc batteries could provide a safer, non-flammable, and more sustainable alternative for stationary energy storage. The company says its electrode design, compatible with aqueous battery manufacturing lines, offers a path to deploy new long-duration or high-power batteries without the need to construct expensive new gigafactories.
“This project will enable Enzinc to tune our formulations to handle high power or long duration energy storage use cases with the same chemistry,” Galluzzo added.
If successful, the zinc-based systems could be used for everything from renewable integration and peak shaving to backup power for critical infrastructure — all using abundant domestic materials and eliminating the fire risk associated with lithium-ion systems.
Building momentum with California support
This grant adds to Enzinc’s growing list of accolades and funding wins. The company recently closed an $8 million Series A round to scale manufacturing, and has previously received nearly $3 million from other CEC programs, including a $1.8 million BRIDGE award and CalSEED Phase I/II grants.
“California’s continued investment in innovative energy technologies sends a powerful message,” said Enzinc CEO Michael Burz. “We’re honored to be selected for this program and to pave the way for more sustainable grid-scale storage that can be rapidly deployed by leveraging existing battery manufacturing infrastructure.”
Final approval of the award is expected at an upcoming CEC business meeting.
