Toronto-based energy storage company, e-Zinc, announced Monday it had raised $2.3 million in a closed round led by BDC Capital. This financing completes a successfully submitted equity round of $3.5 million in January for the company and a $6.5 million in non-dilutive grant funding.
According to the company, this financing will help it to deploy its first in-field system in May 2021. With Faromor, e-Zinc will develop this project at its facility in Stratford, Ontario.
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e-Zinc to accelerate commercialization of its energy storage technologies
e-Zinc, a Canadian energy storage innovator, announced Monday it had raised $2.3 million from the closed Cleantech Practice round sponsored by BDC Capital.
The company declared this financing completes two of its successfully submitted equity rounds; one of $3.5 million led by energy Foundry and $6.5 million in non-dilutive grant funding. This latter financing includes a $1.6 million investment from NRCan’s Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada.
According to e-Zinc, it will seize the funding to deploy its first in-field system in May 2021 with Faromor at its facility in Stratford, Ontario. This project is financially supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and NRCan and will help the company accelerate its energy storage technology commercialization.
“e-Zinc has developed a breakthrough technology for grid-scale energy storage that stores energy in physically-free zinc metal,” the company said in a public statement. “By decoupling power and energy, the company scales energy capacity at a fraction of the cost of lithium-ion batteries, enabling the technology to deliver energy over multiple days economically.”
“This low-cost, flexible, and long-duration energy storage solution will enable the world’s energy markets to be fully powered by renewable energy,” the company added.
In this regard, James Larsen, CEO of e-Zinc, said, “markets like California, New York, and many others have made commitments to be 100% renewable in 15-20 years from now.”
As the CEO declared, this process needs energy storage technologies with multiple-day durations instead of batteries, which are only capable of multiple hours.
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Therefore, “e-Zinc’s solution is a critical component to achieve our dreams of a carbon-free energy grid. BDC’s an investment and team will help accelerate the commercialization of our energy storage solution, allowing us to successfully deploy our company’s first pilot projects,” the CEO added.
“Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada brings together the public and private sectors to build Canada’s clean energy future. e-Zinc’s energy storage technology is an example of how innovation will get us to net-zero by 2050,” said the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources.
Jérôme Nycz, Executive Vice President of BDC Capital, also declared: “We are excited to support e-Zinc – a winner of Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada – to commercialize its novel technology for cost-effective, long-duration energy storage and help decarbonize the world’s energy markets.”
e-Zinc is a Toronto-based company founded in 2012 in the energy storage technology branch. The company’s zinc-based energy storage system can be up to 80 percent less expensive than comparable lithium-ion systems for long-duration applications. Its energy storage system can operate in temperatures ranging from -30°C to 60°C, made mainly of recyclable materials.
BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs. It offers businesses a full spectrum of capital, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who want to stand out on the world stage.
