Business View Magazine - Nov 2023

114 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 11 gathering and interacting with peers from other pioneering companies was humbling and exhilarating. It provided a broader perspective on the global innovations underway and underscored the significance of our contributions in the energy storage space.” Zinc: The Unsung Hero of Energy Storage Navigating the intricate maze of energy storage, one metal emerges as a promising contender: zinc. Its potential in the energy storage sector is not just a recent discovery; zinc was the metal chosen for the very first battery. Yet, its application in modern energy storage solutions, especially in the way e-Zinc envisions, is nothing short of revolutionary. Larsen elaborates on the rationale behind e-Zinc’s choice of zinc as the primary metal. “The decision to use zinc is anchored in two main considerations. Firstly, the supply chain. Traditional battery materials like lithium and cobalt face supply constraints or geopolitical challenges. For instance, cobalt’s primary source is the Congo. As we gear up for an energy transition, the demand for these materials will skyrocket, leading to a potential mismatch between supply and demand. Zinc, however, is abundant, with hundreds of megatons in global reserves. Moreover, the robust recycling sector around zinc means that about 40% of the world’s annual zinc consumption is sourced from recycled materials.” But the advantages of zinc don’t stop at its abundance. Larsen continues, “The second advantage lies in zinc’s electrochemical properties. We use zinc as an energy carrier, akin to fuel. Unlike traditional batteries, where the amount of lithium limits the duration, we’ve managed to decouple power from energy. Zinc serves as the energy, much like fuel in an engine. For a material to truly function as an energy carrier, it must possess four key properties: strong energy kinetics, high energy density, stability, and reversibility. While other elements might excel in one or two of these areas, zinc shines in all four.” Reflecting on e-Zinc’s journey, Larsen shares, “The company was founded in 2012. Initially, it