HI-POWER, our manufacturing subsidiary co-owned with Eos, began production of the Znyth® Direct Current (DC) Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in July at our Turtle Creek, PA plant. In the short two months since start up, HI-POWER is already attracting reputable companies and large energy storage projects.

Our partner, Eos, secured 1.5 GWh of zinc battery storage projects across Texas and California, which will be manufactured at the HI-POWER manufacturing plant. The orders include agreement to supply 1 GWh of standalone BESS to International Electric Power, LLC (IEP) for grid connected projects with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for delivery in 2021, and an agreement to supply Carson Hybrid Energy Storage, LLC (CHES) with 500 MWh of integrated AC BESS starting in the first quarter of 2023. CHES aims to use HI-POWER’s safe, sustainable, long duration battery solutions in parallel with existing power generation and substation architecture to store renewable-generated energy and to provide power quality and better resilience to the California power grid.

Following its initial investment in 2018, Holtec has made additional capital and technology investments in 2020 to help support HI-POWER’s manufacturing program. The Company envisions HI-POWER to be an essential part of our aspiration to build stable mini-grid ecosystems centered around our SMR-160 reactor complemented by solar or wind plus energy storage near the world’s cities and towns. We believe these reactor and energy storage technologies will create the essential building blocks for carbon-free energy ecosystems that will become ubiquitous around the globe powering the motors of the local economies from electric vehicles to blast furnaces.

“In addition to our SMR program, our continued investment in the Znyth® technology also complements our decommissioning business, enabling energy storage hubs at decommissioned nuclear sites utilizing pre-existing grid connectivity,” says Dr. Rick Springman, Holtec’s corporate sponsor for HI-POWER. He further noted, “these energy storage hubs could help connect renewables to the grid with better stability and in many cases serve as an additional revenue stream during the multi-year decommissioning activities due to their relatively small footprint within the site.” 

The core of the BESS is the Znyth® (zinc hybrid cathode) battery technology, which employs a unique zinc-halide oxidation/reduction cycle to generate output current and to recharge with minimal degradation. The batteries are integrated into a containerized Energy BlockTM that provides 150 kW of nominal system power (DC). The innovative Energy BlockTM packaging enables flexible options for system installation while significantly lowering the installation cost and accelerating permitting and installation time. The Energy Block is shipped with batteries and all DC electrical equipment integrated into a standard 20-foot ISO shipping container for drop and deploy convenience. 

The unique attributes of our battery technology are that it is non-flammable, making it ideal for applications in high population centers or sites with explosion hazards, operates at high ambient temperatures (up 45oC without HVAC) and accommodates 100% depth of discharge.

Additional information regarding the Znyth® Battery Energy Storage System can be found at Holtec’s HI-POWER webpage.