Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc (CVE:ZAIR), the energy storage and battery firm, has taken the next step in its evolution, inking a deal with long-standing India-based manufacturer Vijai Electricals Ltd over potential future joint venture deals in the power-hungry country.
Zinc8 is focused on long-duration energy storage and its low-cost Zinc-Air battery offers a 20,000-hour operating life and more than eight hours of storage.
The firm said the two companies had agreed to explore joint-venture projects concerning deploying Zinc8's patented Zinc-Air energy storage system and also the potential of manufacturing components of the system in India.
READ: Zinc8 Energy Solutions raises C$1.4M from private placing for working capital
"Vijai is a proven high-quality technology and manufacturing company that has successfully partnered with globally branded companies to deliver top-notch products to its customers," Ron MacDonald, CEO of Zinc8 Energy Storage Inc said in a statement on Monday,
"I have been impressed by Vijai's 47-year track record in distributed energy and manufacturing, its commitment to quality, and its trusted partners in India and over 40 other countries. This agreement is an important step as Zinc8 enters the global long-duration energy storage market," he added.
Dasari Jai Ramesh, Vijai Electricals' chairman, told investors that his company was "happy" to work with Zinc8, which was a "pioneer in cost-effective Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for longer durations".
"For countries like India which need round the clock renewable energy systems, it is expected that Zinc8 BESS would fill the need in an effective way. Vijai, with its past experience of successfully serving export utility markets around the world, will be proud to work towards fulfilling this need," he said.
Vijai, headquartered in Hyderabad, manufactures extra-high voltage transformers up to 400kV, 315 MVA for large scale power generation and transmission applications and the world's highest voltage class 1200kV, 333 MVA single phase for Indian system R&D purposes.
It has been a strong engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) player for electrical transmission and distribution projects, overhead and underground, in India and abroad. In addition, Vijai is foraying into smart metering solutions.
Meanwhile, Zinc8's modular Energy Storage System (ESS) is designed to deliver power in the range 20kW - 50MW with capacity of eight hours of storage or higher.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com