The Solar Impulse Foundation Selects ZincFive Batteries to Join Global Sustainability Guide

May 26, 2021
ZincFive nickel-zinc monobloc & cyclinderical batteries that are safe, powerful, reliable and sustainable

In 2016, the Solar Impulse 2 landed in Abu Dhabi, completing the first flight around the Earth by a piloted aircraft using only solar power.

This year, ZincFive has landed the Solar Impulse Efficient Solutions label, recognized for having one of the top clean, efficient and profitable solutions helping to address climate change.

The Solar Impulse 2’s solar-powered journey around the world opened minds to greater possibilities for clean energy and sustainable technologies. After his historic landing, Bertrand Piccard set himself and the Solar Impulse Foundation the challenge of finding more real-world solutions that help protect the environment in a profitable way.

To date, Bertrand Piccard and the Solar Impulse Foundation have identified over 1000 clean and profitable solutions and awarded them the ‘Solar Impulse Efficient Solutions label.’ The Label is one of the first of its kind being awarded to ‘positive impact businesses’ who are combining sustainability with financial viability, evaluated by a pool of independent experts using strict assessment criteria. The solutions have been organized into a Guide in order to support their implementation by businesses at scale.

You can now find ZincFive’s NiZn batteries in the guide here.

The Foundation chose ZincFive for our high-capacity, rechargeable, and recyclable nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries that provide high energy density and performance, with significant safety and environmental advantages. In awarding the selection, the Foundation categorized ZincFive batteries under two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations General Assembly.[1]

SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG 7 aims to “guarantee universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy, as well as improving energy efficiency,” according to the Foundation.

ZincFive’s NiZn batteries help reduce the cost of energy storage and improve the energy efficiency of systems and facilities such as data centers. By replacing the traditional energy storage solution—lead-acid batteries—NiZn batteries open up numerous ways to use less materials and electricity for a given purpose. For example, NiZn batteries have twice the energy density at one half the weight of lead-acid batteries, so they require less facility space. By operating at higher temperatures than other battery types, they require less electricity and systems for cooling. As a result of these advantages and others, NiZn battery technology helps companies to be more energy efficient as well as lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

You can read more about the operational advantages of NiZn batteries in the blog post
Nickel-Zinc: High Power Density Backup Power for Data Centers.

SDG 12 – Solutions for Responsible Consumption and Production

In the words of the Foundation, SDG 12 is focused on efficiently managing natural resources and the disposal of toxic wastes and pollutants.

In this category, NiZn has superior characteristics to lead-acid batteries and the other competitive solution, lithium-ion batteries. To start, lead-acid batteries contain significant amounts of lead and other hazardous materials that create a highly pollutive and hazardous recycling process. In fact, environmental organizations have identified used lead-acid battery recycling as the world’s #1 pollution problem.[2]

Lithium-ion batteries are not much better. The extraction of lithium has significant environmental and social impacts, from water pollution and depletion to leaching, spills and air emissions of toxic chemicals.[3]

NiZn batteries consist mainly of common highly available materials, are non-flammable and fail-safe. Moreover, both nickel and zinc can be recycled while maintaining their physical and chemical properties, making NiZn one of the most recyclable battery chemistries. It’s for reasons like these that a recent Climate Impact Report gave NiZn batteries the best climate impact score for any backup battery technology—9.4 out of 10.

Read the blog post Comparing the Climate Impact of Batteries on Data Center Sustainability to get more detailed findings from the Report.

At ZincFive, we’re delighted to have been awarded this Label by the Solar Impulse Foundation. Our NiZn batteries demonstrate how alternative technologies can support corporate sustainability goals as well as profitability and safety. We’re proud to join the other 1000+ chosen products in the Solar Impulse Foundation Guide to help launch global change to take care of the planet we will be leaving to future generations.

[1] https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals

[2] https://www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/133

[3] https://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/publications/13_factsheet-lithium-gb.pdf

Photo Source: Solar Impulse Foundation