Zinc8 to set up USD-68m zinc-air battery production hub in New York

Vancouver, Canada-based zinc-air batteries developer Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc (CNSX:ZAIR) will relocate its manufacturing base to New York’s Ulster County after receiving grant funding under the state’s tax credits programme.

The plan envisages moving the company’s production hub and US headquarters to Kingston in a move that will see it spend some USD 68 million (EUR 62.6m) over a five-year period, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Friday.

Empire State Development, the umbrella organisation for the New York State Urban Development Corporation and the New York Job Development Authority, has committed to granting up to USD 9 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program (EJP) tax credits to support the project. The tax credits will be available immediately, the Canadian firm said separately.

While Zinc8 did not announce its final selection for the relocation, it could become a tenant in a new USD-100-million business park that will be set up at a former IBM site in Kingston, according to Governer’s announcement. The company has applied to lease around 237,000 sq ft within the complex owned by National Resources.

The project to automate and build out the specific site is expected to open up to 500 jobs.

Zinc8 is developing long-duration modular energy storage systems incorporating zinc-air flow battery technology for the utilities, microgrid, and commercial and industrial (C&I) markets. Its systems are designed to deliver power in the range of 20 kW to 50 MW for at least eight hours.

In 2020, it was successful in an innovation programme of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) with a 100 kW/1 MWh zinc-air battery storage project, the first phase of which is due to go live this year. The company also obtained state funding for a 100-kW/1.5-MWh project at a combined heat and power (CHP) plant.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.920)

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