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    Zinc-based Battery Storage Producer Eos Energy Enterprises Closes on $303.5M DOE Loan Guarantee

    Dec. 3, 2024
    Eos Energy Enterprises will expand manufacturing of its Eos Z3 batteries containing aqueous zinc-bromine chemistries in Pennsylvania. The company moved its production line from China in 2018.
    Image credit Eos Energy Enterprises
    674f5c0b4575d6066f108157 Eos

    A leading player in alternative and long-duration energy storage gained a $303.5-million fiscal shot in the arm Tuesday.

    The U.S. Department of Energy announced its Loan Programs Office (LPO) has closed on a loan guarantee to zinc-based battery firm Eos Energy Enterprises. The money, which is nearly $280 million in principal and the rest in capitalized interest, will fund construction of two lines producing the stationery and utility-scale energy storage batteries in Pennsylvania.

    Eos will expand manufacturing of its Eos Z3 batteries containing aqueous zinc-bromine chemistries. The company moved its production line from China in 2018.

    Large-scale battery storage is seen as a tool to facilitate greater adoption of intermittent renewable energies, grid services and also microgrids, but needs longer duration technology than lithium-ion, which is capable of four hours or so, according to reports. Zinc-based batteries also are less prone to fire danger or thermal runaway than lithium-ion.

    Eos will produce the Z3 batteries with two production lines in Turtle Creek, and may add two more manufacturing lines in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, pending new approvals.

    “Five years ago, we made the strategic decision to bring our manufacturing operations back to the U.S. from China – a move that has been transformative to our business and positioned Eos at the forefront of the American manufacturing renaissance,” said Eos CEO Joe Mastrangelo, in a company statement. “Since then, we’ve made significant advancements in our battery technology, retooled our manufacturing facilities for greater efficiency, and established a U.S.- based supply chain with over 90% domestic content, all of which has brought us to this milestone today with the DOE.

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    “The DOE loan provides capital to scale our operations to meet the surging demand for reliable, long-duration energy storage solutions, all while supporting American manufacturing,” Mastrangelo added.

    This summer, Eos announced new orders from Bridgelink Commodities and a Northeast solar developer for 1.1 GWh of energy storage capacity. The orders will be delivered over the next three years. The multi-year master supply is for 1 GWh for deliveries over the next three years with an incremental order value of $181 million for new project installations.

    The company’s loan guarantee from DOE’s LPO is aimed at advancing Eos' $500 million American Made Zinc Energy (AMAZE) initiative which began with the move from China. The financing could help Eos expand its manufacturing capacity to 8 GWh by 2027.

    Eos, which currently employs close to 250 people at Turtle Creek, could increase that workforce up to 1,000 through the expansion afforded by the LPO loan guarantee, according to the company.

    Zinc is a relatively low-cost and readily available metal which reacts to bromine to create an electric charge. The Eos Z3 is touted as a self-contained, non-flow battery technology which possesses a 100% depth of discharge with up to 12 hours duration and can be cycled about 6,000 times over 20 years.

    Other energy storage companies working with zinc-bromine-based battery chemistries include Redflow and Urban Electric Power.

     

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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