Offgrid Energy Labs Signs MoU with Keele University

India-origin deep-tech energy storage company Offgrid Energy Labs has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Keele University in the UK to deploy its patented ZincGel® long-duration energy storage (LDES) technology on the university’s campus.

Under the partnership, ZincGel® batteries manufactured at Offgrid Energy Labs’ recently established facility in Hook, Hampshire, will be deployed as part of a pilot project at Keele University’s Low Carbon Energy Generation Park. According to the company, the project will be the UK’s first zinc-LDES project using batteries manufactured entirely in the UK.

The pilot will deploy a ZincGel® battery system at Keele’s campus in a fully islanded configuration. The project will assess the technology’s ability to capture and store around 1 MWh of surplus renewable energy each month.

The pilot will also evaluate the battery safety, deep-discharge capability and round-trip performance under real operating conditions. The project will assess the system’s performance against seasonal variations in renewable energy generation at Keele and explore how ZincGel® technology can help manage renewable energy curtailment.

Based on the findings from the pilot, the partners plan to develop a proposal for a larger multi-MWh ZincGel® deployment at Keele University. The proposed system would be designed to store excess renewable electricity that would otherwise be curtailed across the campus.

Keele University’s Low Carbon Energy Generation Park includes two wind turbines and supplies up to 50% of the campus’s electricity requirements. The long-duration storage system is expected to support the utilisation of surplus renewable power generated at the site.

Developed in India, Offgrid Energy Labs’ ZincGel® technology is based on proprietary zinc-bromine chemistry and is designed for a 6-to-16-hour discharge window. This enables renewable energy generated during periods of surplus to be stored and used during periods of higher demand.

The technology uses zinc and bromine instead of lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare-earth materials. The company has designed the system as a non-flammable energy storage solution for applications including renewable energy integration, industrial energy resilience, microgrids and grid-scale energy storage.

Tejas Kusurkar, Co-Founder of Offgrid Energy Labs, said that taking deep-tech technologies developed in India into global markets represents an important opportunity. He added that the partnership with Keele University brings together India-origin technology, UK manufacturing and a real-world renewable energy environment to demonstrate the potential of ZincGel®.

Prof Raphael Hirschi, Director of the Digital Society Institute at Keele University, said the project will help address challenges related to renewable energy intermittency and long-duration energy storage. The pilot will evaluate zinc-bromine batteries as an alternative to lithium-based technology for energy storage over timescales of up to a day.