Nickel-Zinc Battery Company Raises $30 Million
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ZincFive has closed an oversubscribed Series F funding round this month, raising $30 million. That brings its total funding raised to $254 million since the company was founded nearly a decade ago in 2016.
The aim of the funding is to help with rapid scaling of its commercial footprint and manufacturing footprint. Naturally, there can’t be an energy and tech announcement without referencing AI anymore, and in this case the company notes that it is eager to scale up because of strong demand for its AI data center power solutions.
ZincFive claims the title of “world leader in nickel-zinc (NiZn) battery-based solutions for immediate power applications.” The company has either deployed or been contracted for a total of 2 gigawatts (GW) nickel-zinc battery backup cabinets, which is indeed a pretty large amount for an uncommon battery chemistry. Of course, it’s not clear what percentage of that 2 GW is deployed versus contracted, but it’s a notable total either way.
“This funding milestone underscores both our commercial maturity and the massive market opportunity ahead,” said Tod Higinbotham, CEO of ZincFive. “We’ve moved beyond proving our technology — we’re scaling to meet contracted demand from the world’s leading hyperscalers and data center operators. This investment accelerates our commercial and manufacturing expansion and strengthens our ability to deliver on the significant commitments our customers have made to deploy ZincFive’s battery technology at scale. As we expand, so does our commitment to continuous improvement — a philosophy that strengthens every layer of our technology, from core chemistry to system-level architecture.”
Overall, this announcement on top of so many other AI data center announcements is a reminder to me that we’re going to be able to cheer a lot of cleantech growth during these years, but a large portion of that is actually going to come from massive increases in power demand from AI data centers rather than from simply replacing fossil fueled power plants. That’s not ideal.
ZincFive provides a bit more company news and context to hype up its brand, as it deserves to do after raising $30 million and achieving the milestones it has: “The funding follows the recently announced launch of ZincFive’s BC 2 AI, a nickel-zinc UPS battery cabinet engineered for the dynamic power needs of AI data centers, offering AI load support, zero thermal-runaway risk, and a 96 percent recyclable design. This combination of technology innovation and manufacturing scale strengthens ZincFive’s position as a key enabler of the AI transformation reshaping global data center infrastructure.” Yes, two pluses of this technology is it’s supposed to be both safer and more sustainable.
“ZincFive’s patented nickel-zinc battery technology delivers superior power density, inherent safety, and exceptional sustainability compared to lead-acid and lithium-ion alternatives. With nearly a decade of proven field performance, its chemistry maintains conductivity even in weak or depleted cells, requires minimal maintenance, and offers an industry-leading compact and environmental footprint. ZincFive has also established strategic commercial relationships with leading OEMs underscoring its growing role in next-generation, AI-ready infrastructure,” the company notes.
“The AI infrastructure buildout represents one of the largest technology investment cycles in history, and power systems are emerging as a critical bottleneck,” adds Hannah-Mei Andrews, investment Director at Climate Investment (CI). “ZincFive has demonstrated both the technical strength and commercial track record needed to capture meaningful market share in this rapidly expanding sector. Their ability to deliver safe, sustainable, high-performance batteries uniquely suited to AI’s demanding power profile positions them as a clear leader in the industry’s next phase of growth.” Unfortunately, I’m not thrilled about that context, but I do think ZincFive looks like a promising startup with useful technology. Presumably, it’s cost competitive enough, as it has secured significant contracts, and one would presume that scaling up a lot will bring costs down much further. It’s a company to keep an eye on.
ZincFive has won a number of awards already. There’s always a question of how well companies are evaluated for these kinds of media and niche industry awards, but some work certainly goes into them. “This strategic investment comes as ZincFive continues to gain recognition as a leader in sustainable energy storage, recently earning inclusion on TIME’s 2025 World’s and America’s Top GreenTech Companies lists, the 2024 Edison Award™, and CleanTech Breakthrough’s 2024 Overall Innovation of the Year,” ZincFive boasts.
Congratulations to ZincFive for now, ending 2025 strong. I look forward to seeing strong, notable progress in 2026.
Images courtesy of ZincFive.
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