Better batteries for energy storage
Salient Energy developed zinc ion batteries: safe, low cost, and long lasting energy storage built as an alternative to lithium ion. The company was founded in Kitchener, in Ontario's Region of Waterloo, with the goal of making grid and home energy storage cheaper and far less flammable.
The world is adding renewable energy faster than it can store it. Solar and wind produce power when the sun shines and the wind blows, not necessarily when it is needed, so the value of clean energy increasingly depends on the batteries that hold it until demand arrives. Today most of that storage is built on lithium ion, the same chemistry that powers phones and electric cars. Salient Energy was founded on a simple argument: the battery that is right for a car is not necessarily the right one for a building or a power grid.
Why zinc instead of lithium
Lithium ion batteries are energy dense, which is exactly what you want in a vehicle where weight and space are at a premium. But for stationary storage, weight does not matter. What matters is cost, safety, and how many years the battery lasts. There, lithium has real drawbacks: it is expensive, its supply chain is constrained and concentrated, and its flammable electrolyte introduces fire risk.
Zinc changes that calculation. It is one of the most abundant and inexpensive metals on earth, and Salient's water based zinc chemistry is far less flammable than lithium ion. For a battery that sits in a basement or on a grid for a decade, those are the properties that count. See the full comparison.
The technology
Salient's batteries used an aqueous, rechargeable zinc chemistry paired with a metal oxide intercalation cathode, designed for a long cycle life rather than maximum energy density. The approach grew out of materials research into rechargeable zinc batteries, and it targets the part of the market lithium serves poorly: stationary storage where safety and cost outweigh weight. Read more about how it works.
Built in the Region of Waterloo
Salient Energy was based in Kitchener, Ontario, part of the Waterloo region that has produced a long line of Canadian technology and cleantech companies. It is a market with a deep engineering talent pool and a strong research base in advanced materials and energy.