e-Zinc, a Toronto-based long-term battery storage company, has raised $42 million to support two pilot projects and refine its technology for commercialization and certification.

The latest funding round, following up on $34 million raised in 2022, enables e-Zinc to transition into its pilot phase, CEO James Larsen told Sustainable Biz Canada in an interview.

“The objective over the next couple of years is to go through this second chapter of our journey, where we will now be transitioning from prototype manufacturing methods to pilot methods.”

At its finished Mississauga pilot facility, staff are being shuffled in to prepare for pilot projects with the California Energy Commission and Toyota Tsusho Canada Inc.

Founded in 2012, e-Zinc is the developer of a zinc-air battery that can discharge energy for 10 to 100 hours, compared to a few hours for conventional lithium-ion batteries, Larsen said. As more renewable energy powers electric grids, longer-duration energy storage will be needed for reliability.

The company was named to the Global Cleantech 100 list for 2023 and 2024, being one of the Canadian companies to consistently make the ranking.

Changing to the pilot phase

After its first in-field deployment in Ontario at a compressed natural gas facility, e-Zinc is ready for “Chapter 2” Larsen said.

Its 42,000-square-foot facility in Mississauga is where the company will validate its technology, manufacturing methods and processes for commercialization. The transition means moving away from computer-controlled tools and plastic 3D-printed parts to molded parts and tools that are representative of scale.

The facility was finished in May, and e-Zinc’s staff are being moved in, with expectation for everyone to be settled by September to begin operations. Approximately 75 people will work in the facility.

Mississauga, Larsen explained, is a “great location” because it is well connected to e-Zinc’s suppliers and partners, is home to Toronto Pearson International Airport and is a central location for its employees across Canada.

The first activities at the pilot facility will address projects for the California Energy Commission and Toyota Tsusho to demonstrate 24-hour energy storage at commercial scale.

The $42-million Series A2 round was led by Evok Innovations, with contributions from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Export Development Canada and Ultratech Capital Partners. e-Zinc’s existing shareholders such as Toyota Ventures, Eni Next, Anzu Partners, BDC and Graphite Ventures also participated.

Japanese automakers Toyota and Mitsubishi are interested in e-Zinc not for electric vehicle batteries, but to assist the company in the value chain and collaborate on projects where e-Zinc’s batteries would be a good fit, Larsen said.

Toyota, for example, connected e-Zinc to its partners and suppliers, which let e-Zinc “piggyback” from Toyota’s bulk purchases. It was taught Toyota’s production system, which slashed e-Zinc’s cycle time by over half. e-Zinc staff also toured Toyota’s Cambridge, Ont. factory to learn about efficient operations, Larsen said.

Preparing for commercialization

A second part of the funding is supporting e-Zinc’s step to narrow some “modest” technology changes. The battery technology is being refined to meet certification requirements — such as UL — for markets to achieve scaleup and commercialization.

It also plans more research and development on its energy storage system to extend battery duration and energy capacity.

Borrowing another lesson from the auto industry, e-Zinc’s commercialization will use a network of regional manufacturing rather than being a fully integrated manufacturer, Larsen said. The intent is to have a North American regional manufacturing model using third-party suppliers for manufacturing some components, while e-Zinc does final assembly and pack-out.

“It’s a highly scalable model because it’s relatively capital light and you’re leveraging existing ecosystems,” Larsen said.

Once the company reaches the commercial stage, the Mississauga facility will be converted into a research and development hub for materials and components.

The focus now is to execute the pilot projects “very well” and figure out what the regional manufacturing would look like, such as the size of the facilities, Larsen explained.

“The exciting thing about closing this round is that we can now really just focus on execution. We’ve got a solid amount of runway, we’ve got an excellent team, we’ve got a detailed plan, and we just need to execute against it.”