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Estimated reading time: 2 – 3 minutes.
Adoption, Deals, and Tech
ESS to Buy VoltStorage IP
Iron flow battery firm ESS Tech has announced plans to acquire the IP of VoltStorage GmbH, a German iron-salt battery technology developer that closed its doors last year. Story in PV Magazine.
100 Hours in Play
Competition in the 100-hour battery market is heating up, per a recent report from Latitude Media. In addition to iron-air juggernaut Form Energy, new entrants include iron-air startup Ore Energy and carbon-oxygen innovator Noon Energy. Form has raised $1.2B so far, but both Ore and Noon have recent noticeable wins under their belts.
(What’s driving the 100-hour interest? A hint from the same article: zinc LDES leader Eos Energy reports over 50% new pipeline growth due to sudden interest from data center customers.) Read the whole story.
Zinc Intelligence
Brandon Smith, VP of Global Sales and Product at ZincFive discusses why traditional battery chemistries struggle with rapid, AI dynamic loads and how ZincFive’s nickel-zinc (NiZn) technology delivers high power density in a safer more sustainable solution. Read the interview in Intelligent Data Centres.
Virginia Turns to LDES for AI-Era Grid Resilience
Poised to become the world’s largest concentration of data centers, the U.S. State of Virginia has passed new legislation to scale LDES to maintain its grid reliability. Pending the state’s governor approval, the legislation passed in the Virginia Senate and House sets out:
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520 MW of Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) for Phase I utilities by 2045
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4,000 MW of LDES for Phase II utilities by 2045
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A 20% coalfield regional carve-out for LDES, and
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Flexibility for utilities to exceed targets
Details from the Long Duration Energy Storage Council (LDES Council) on LinkedIn.
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Aqueous Deep Dives
Study: Alkaline Thrives Under Pressure
A team at the Sandia National Laboratories and University of Kentucky, Lexington has found a way to potentially smooth the path to more impactful alkaline grid-scale batteries. “Externally applied pressure at 20% DODMnO2 drives profound effect on impedance, electrochemical cycling behavior, and materials morphology of alkaline Zn–MnO2 batteries,” their recent study finds.
Read the published research in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
The State of Zinc-Ion Patents
Zinc-ion batteries have major safety, cost, and supply chain advantages – but energy density, zinc dendrite formation, and limited cycle life, largely driven by side reactions in aqueous electrolytes, is holding them back. Plus: China is taking the lead in patent development of the technology.
Those are key findings shared around a 2025 Zn-ion landscape analysis from patent & technology intelligence firm KnowMade and the Volta Foundation.
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Mark Your Calendars
Preview: Octet @ International Battery Seminar and Exhibition
Octet’s Emily Dickens caught up with MaryAnn Brown, Executive Director, Conferences at Cambridge Innovation Institute, for a preview of Emily’s upcoming presentation at the 43rd International Battery Seminar and Exhibition, March 23-26 in Orlando, Florida.
Emily talks about how small electrolyte improvements can make huge battery performance impacts. 🎥Watch on LinkedIn:
ICYMI: Upcoming 2026 Aqueous Events
📆 Get a head start on 2026 planning with our Aqueous Energy Events Calendar in our December 29th Aqueous Battery Brief.
Two Chances to Hear Octet
- International Battery Seminar & Exhibit • Mar 23 – 26 / Orlando, Florida, USA
- BCI Convention + Power Mart Expo • May 3 – 6 / Nashville, Tennessee, USA
We’ll see you soon.
Who’s Hiring
Seeking a new role — or know someone who is? Start with the quick links to aqueous firms’ open roles pages and specific roles below.
👩🔬 Open Roles Pages (Multiple Roles)
👨🔬 Specific Openings
- Urban Electric Power: Mechanical Engineer — Battery Cell & Module Development
- Æsir Technologies is looking to fill multiple engineering roles. Interested candidates should send resumes to Æsir’s Employment Page.
Have a specific open position you’d like to highlight? Send us an e-mail.
Octet Case Study: $7.5M in Projected Savings
Read how Octet identified a path to 10% greater round-trip efficiency
by testing 30+ electrolyte additives.