BioZen Batteries, Inc.

🧗♂️ https://lnkd.in/gNts53b5 ← Beyond Lithium Ep. 28! What is Fourth Power’s Guinness World record? Can we make renewables just as dispatchable as fossil fuels? And how is a battery like a carabiner?! For answers, tune into this episode where ⁠Arvin Ganesan⁠, CEO of ⁠Fourth Power⁠, sits down to discuss the company's groundbreaking thermal battery technology and its role in the future of renewable energy with host Nate Kirchhofer, CEO of BioZen Batteries, Inc. Fourth Power, spun out from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgia Institute of Technology, has developed a system that uses liquid tin heated to over 2400°C to store energy and discharge for 5-500 hours. Arvin explains that this scalable and low-cost energy storage solution is critical for enabling a fully renewable grid, as it addresses the challenges of making renewable energy sources dispatchable and reliable, well-aligned with the global transition away from fossil fuels. The discussion moves to what utilities prioritize—reliability, safety, and cost—when considering new technologies. Fourth Power's thermal battery system is designed with these priorities in mind, ensuring it can offer renewable energy that is ultimately cheaper than fossil fuels and also available for dispatch like traditional fossil fuel power plants, giving utilities critical control over energy generation. Hear some technical details of Fourth Power’s "sun in a box" technology that involves storing energy in carbon blocks heated by liquid tin. Arvin contrasts their technology with other thermal battery solutions as well as lithium-ion batteries, particularly in scalability and cost-efficiency; while lithium-ion batteries have been crucial for short-duration storage, the scale of storage needed to support a fully renewable grid—100 terawatt-hours—demands more affordable and scalable alternatives. Looking forward, Fourth Power is building a ⁠1 MWh prototype facility near Boston⁠, slated for completion by 2025. This facility will test all components at full scale (1 GWh compatible) to de-risk the technology before scaling to commercial levels. The company’s next milestones include durability testing of the system's components, integrating a full one-megawatt-hour battery by 2025, and collaborating with utility partners on a 10-megawatt-hour pilot by 2026, all critical to demonstrating the technology’s reliability and preparing for larger deployments. The discussion wouldn’t be complete without coverage of regulatory and market challenges in introducing new technologies to utilities, which have traditionally been cautious adopters. The increasing demand for power, driven by #electrification and data centers, will push utilities to seek out innovative solutions that provide #reliability, #affordability, and #cleanenergy. Thanks as always to Abe Mezrich and Celine Kusuma for helping behind the scenes, and Curtis Worden for theme music.

As we continue to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), we're witnessing how this landmark policy is driving breakthroughs in energy storage solutions. With new investment tax credits for standalone systems, the IRA is revolutionizing the landscape of clean energy storage. Discover how these changes are paving the way for a more sustainable future and unlocking new opportunities for innovation in our conversation with Russ Weed. #InflationReductionAct #EnergyStorage #CleanEnergy #SustainableFuture #EnergyInnovation

ICYMI: Craig Lewis and the Clean Coalition are revolutionizing local energy with groundbreaking projects like Community Microgrids. Discover how they're creating resilient, sustainable communities in our latest post. #CleanEnergy #CommunityMicrogrids #SustainableEnergy #RenewableEnergy #EnergyStorage #EnergyInnovation #CleanCoalition #SolarEnergy #EnergyResilience #EnergyTransition #BeyondLithium #IRA #InflationReductionAct https://lnkd.in/gjkh2rfQ

With the Inflation Reduction Act (#IRA) now two years old, now is the perfect time to learn how Craig Lewis and the Clean Coalition are transforming local energy landscapes, from Community Microgrids to Solar Emergency Microgrids. Read more in our #ShortStorage post. #CleanEnergy #CommunityMicrogrids #SustainableEnergy #RenewableEnergy #EnergyStorage #EnergyInnovation #CleanCoalition #SolarEnergy #EnergyResilience #EnergyTransition #BeyondLithium #IRA #InflationReductionAct

I'm getting on a flight in a few hours to attend (and be a panelist at) the GSL Launchpad Dedication & Workshop tomorrow as BioZen Batteries, Inc.'s representative. Looking forward to connecting with other energy storage technologists, policymakers, and #LDES partners--not to mention seeing the new facility at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory thanks to the DOE Office of Electricity . Thanks to Vincent Sprenkle for manning the helm as Director 🫡

🔋 https://lnkd.in/gMXTTwZU ← Beyond Lithium Ep. 27! What’s a 50 year old battery technology, made from abundant elements, with no risk of thermal runaway and no cycling degradation? Why was it originally targeted for EVs but now more for grid storage? What unique advantages does this decades-old technology bring to the table in today’s market? What do the utilities think? In this latest episode, our guest Ben Kaun, Chief Commercial Officer at Inlyte Energy⁠, delves into these questions—and a lot more—with host Nate Kirchhofer, CEO of BioZen Batteries, Inc. Ben has a rich background in energy storage, including stints at Tesla Motors and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and shares his insights into the evolving landscape of energy storage technologies and his journey that led him to Inlyte, a company focused on commercializing this decades-old technology. Ben’s energy storage journey is fascinatingly personal, rooted in his father’s early work in electrochemistry, which sparked his initial interest in batteries. He recounts the twists and turns of his career, from working in his father’s backyard startup to joining Tesla before the Roadster’s debut. He touches on the challenges of advocating for battery storage in the utility sector, a space often dominated by concerns of safety and reliability. These experiences have brought him to his current role at Inlyte, where he’s now pushing forward a technology that’s nearly 50 years old but that Ben argues is well-suited for today’s energy challenges. He explains that while lithium-ion batteries dominate the market, their limitations in long-duration storage and safety concerns leave room for alternatives. Inlyte’s technology offers a reliable solution for 6 to 12-hour storage needs. Ben’s narrative hints at a future where this technology could play a significant role, especially in scenarios where safety and cost are critical. But can this technology truly compete with the behemoth that is lithium-ion? As the conversation deepens, Nate and Ben explore the broader implications of energy storage on the grid and the importance of long-duration storage in achieving decarbonization goals. Ben paints a picture of a rapidly evolving market where traditional utilities, once skeptical of batteries, are now facing the urgent realities of intermittent and exponentially growing renewable energy. He also discusses the challenges of integrating new technologies into a highly regulated and risk-averse industry. For listeners curious about the economic and technical nuances of energy storage, this segment offers valuable insights. What will be the tipping point for utilities to embrace these new technologies fully? #batteries #cleantech #gridenergy #storage #energy #LDES #longduration

And we're proud to be a part of it!

📊 https://lnkd.in/gUm5KKq7 ← Beyond Lithium Ep. 26! What is impact, and how is it quantified? Why are 87% of clean energy projects severely delayed or failing? If current electricity consumption is 4000 TWh/year, what will it be in 2050 (hint: a lot more)? What is the biggest challenge in decarbonizing that increased demand? And what is BioZen's possible impact? For answers, we're bringing back our guest from Episode 4, Daniel Howard, PhD, CEO and cofounder of Quantum Energy, Inc., to join BioZen Batteries, Inc.'s CEO Nate Kirchhofer. Daniel, and Quantum, is a big advocate for standardizing the way that impact is quantified through industry-standard lifecycle assessments (LCA). Ultimately, this enables data-driven evidence to justify permitting and policy decisions in an otherwise murky benefits-vs-negatives ecosystem. "Oftentimes those overlooked costs, i.e. the [environmental and health] externalities, can be far larger than the infrastructure costs and simply by quantifying them and including them in our decision making frameworks we can make decisions that have much better impact and much lower total costs for everyone and help to create a society and ideally a new iteration of capitalism, that's more equitable and more sustainable," says Daniel. BioZen also contracted Quantum to run an impact analysis for our technology (⁠read the article here https://lnkd.in/g2fNgde7⁠), so stick around to hear Daniel summarize the results of that analysis, and think about how you can apply this to your clean technology! #impact #cleantech #batteries

📈📈📈 You might be wondering, "What is toll manufacturing?" It's a lot like contract manufacturing in that it involves outsourcing production processes to a third party manufacturer (who owns the equipment), but it's different because in toll manufacturing *we* supply the raw materials / semi-finished goods / process whereas a contract manufacturer would do all of that on top of the production. We're approaching it this way to avoid reinventing the wheel: CapEx and lead times for new reactors. This is a key next step for our business as we scale up to meet customer needs at the 100kWh scale and beyond. #manufacturing

We're looking for 2 summer interns—paid! The positions: → Electro-chemo-mechanical Device Engineering (in-person/hybrid) → Technical Cleantech Marketing and Communications Development (hybrid/remote) Basic qualifications (for both positions): year 3+ STEM undergrads or STEM PhD students at any stage. More info + application tasks (e.g. registration for CNSI-Propel) can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ggxTnyy2. This is exciting to announce because, as you probably read in that link, there is currently a funding freeze on the CNSI Propel Fellowship/Award program, but we've found some additional support to make this possible! Please feel free to reach out to hello@biozenbatteries.com for more info and/or to express interest. #cleantech #batteries #internship #