Octet Scientific Wins Grant from the National Science Foundation for Grid-Scale Zinc-Bromine Batteries

Cleveland, Ohio: June 1, 2020 – Octet Scientific has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $225,000 to develop new chemicals to help commercialize Zinc-Bromine batteries.

Zinc-Bromine batteries are designed for large, long-duration energy storage on scales suitable to support the renewable power grid. Compared to traditional battery technologies that are based on lithium and lead, Zinc is a safer, more plentiful, more economical and more sustainable alternative. However, despite these advantages Zinc-Bromine faces some technical challenges that hinder its chances of replacing those incumbent technologies. Chief among them is that Zinc can be difficult to recharge. Octet Scientific, Inc. is attacking Zinc’s recharge problems from a unique angle: by developing additive chemicals that are simply added to Zinc-Bromine electrolytes to seamlessly make Zinc recharging more efficient. The company has already developed a family of patent-pending additives for other Zinc-based batteries in industries like hearing aids and backup power. With this new funding from the NSF, Octet will be able to develop similar enabling chemistries to help establish safe, sustainable, and economical Zinc-Bromine grid storage.

“We are all aware of the problems associated with lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries,” says Octet Founder, Dr. Onas Bolton. “Fires, toxicity, vulnerable supply chains and uneconomical recycling are problems we put up with to have convenient power. To think that we are poised to start installing millions of these batteries onto our power grid is frightening and short-sighted. Zinc-Bromine represents an alternative that is ideal for large-scale energy storage: plentiful, economical, safe and recyclable. With Octet’s help we believe this necessary future energy storage technology can grow to become the best choice for sustainable grid storage.”

To read the project abstract, visit the NSF.

To learn more about Octet’s battery work, contact us at: info@octetsci.com

About America’s Seed Fund

America’s Seed Fund powered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $1.75 million in non-dilutive funds to support research and development (R&D),helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.1 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. For more information, visit seedfund.nsf.gov.