Zinc8 accepted into the ACRE Cleantech Incubator Program at Urban Future Lab

Yesterday after market close, Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. announced "Acceptance into New York City’s ACRE Cleantech Incubator Program at Urban Future Lab". The New York UniversityTandon School of Engineering runs three programs out of its Urban Future Lab, whereas the ACRE Incubator Program is their flagship program – it is what they are really known for, not only state and nationwide but globally. Urban Future Lab benefits from direct ties to the government and the industry, being supported by NYSERDA, NYPA, NYCT, Daikin, Orrick, Wells Fargo, Toyota, and Shell. Zinc8 is the only Canadian company being an active member of the around 20 companies accepted to Urban Future Lab‘s programs.

Urban Future Lab (UFL) is recognized as "the center of cleantech innovation in New York" and they "are leading the way to a more sustainable world by connecting people, capital, and purpose to advance market-ready solutions to address climate change".

As a not-for-profit organization, UFL does not take equity positions in the companies they accept into their programs, which aim at de-risking the technology along with the entrepreneur, to ultimately place them into the New York State economy with a goal of scaling them up beyond the state thereafter.

UFL´s incubated companies have a success/survival rate of 86%, which is the exact opposite of what happens in the startup world, where the survival rate is less than 10% in the United States.

Zinc8´s President and CEO, Ron MacDonald, commented: “New York State has been a driving force in the advancement of our patented Zinc-Air technology toward full commercialization. Being selected into the ACRE Incubator Program at Urban Future Lab provides with unmatched access to strategic advisement, introductions to industry stakeholders, marketing and branding support, investor networks, and access to a community of like-minded founders. We look forward to this unique opportunity of strengthening and accelerating our ambitions by working alongside some of the world’s most exciting new cleantech companies, technology innovators and industry experts.”

About ACRE Incubator

The ACRE (Accelerator for a Clean & Resilient Economy) Program was founded in 2009 as an initiative to support entrepreneurship tackling some of the world’s largest challenges and industries – in energy, food and agriculture, waste and water, and transportation.

According to Zinc8´s news-release: "Urban Future Lab (UFL) at NYU Tandon School of Engineering is New York City’s leading innovation hub for clean energy, smart grid, and smart cities. UFL is home to programs focused on policy, education, and market solutions to address climate change. ACRE, UFL’s flagship program, is an incubator that supports the growth of high-impact start-ups in the green economy. ACRE incubator companies receive business advisory services, introductions to investors, access to mentors and channel partners, as well as office space in Downtown Brooklyn."

"ACRE is NYC’s premier cleantech business incubator program and supports the growth of high-impact early-stage venture companies addressing climate change. Urban Future Lab and all its programs are part of NYU Tandon School of Engineering and supported by NYSERDA and leading industry partners."

According to Urban Future Lab´s website: "ACRE helps cleantech, smart grid and sustainable smart cities companies grow, advancing the city as a role model for a low-carbon future, while also creating jobs. NYC stands to gain significantly by helping innovative startup technology companies that are able to address our most pressing energy and environmental needs. ACRE is funded by NYSERDA, NYU, and our generous corporate partners."

Full size / As New York City’s leading cleantech incubator and innovation hub for clean energy, smart grid, and smart cities, UFL is committed to help grow startups in New York and beyond. (Source: Urban Future Labs)

Full size / UFL has working relationships with a unique incubator network, providing companies with valuable services and opportunities through these affiliations. (Source: Urban Future Labs)

Yesterday’s announcement follows on Zinc8´s two recent New York project announcements, a collaboration with the New York Power Authority for a 100kW/1MWh (10 hours) zinc-air battery energy storage system in western New York and a private sector partnership project with New York based Digital Energy supported by NYSERDA for a 100kW/1.5MWh (15 hours) zinc-air battery energy storage system to be deployed in Brooklyn, New York.


https://youtu.be/ChhbeVhEJC4

On January 17, 2020, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) issued a press-release announcing “a collaboration with a leading-edge energy storage company to develop a demonstration energy storage system, using new zinc-air energy storage technology, in New York State”, stating the following about Zinc8: “The project, selected as a winner through the NYPA Innovation Challenge, will have the ability to provide back-up power, help level grid demand, and move the state further toward a carbon-free electric grid supported by renewable energy resources. The new technology storage system will help advance Governor Cuomo’s Green New Deal by helping to achieve the Governor’s aggressive energy storage goal of 3GW by 2030 and by supporting a nation-leading commitment of 100 percent electricity from zero carbon emission sources by 2040.”

On January 27, 2020, Joe Silver (Director of Programs at Urban Future Lab) mentioned Zinc8 as "a successful new technology being deployed here in New York" in his introduction to the event "Clean Energy Connections: The State of Storage in NY", bringing together experts from the utility, public and private sectors for a dynamic discussion about the state of energy storage in New York: (see video and details below)


https://youtu.be/RSVMJhc4uR4

"Energy storage will play a critical role in New York City’s transition from fossil fuel electricity generation to clean, renewable resources, many of which are intermittent. In addition to enabling our transition to a clean energy supply mix, energy storage can help replace dirty "peaker" power plants and provide emergency backup power, improving public health and community resilience in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events."

"Many understand the importance of energy storage, but few understand the current state of energy storage in New York. Join us for a lively panel discussion among experts from Con Edison, City and State agencies, and the private sector about energy storage in the Empire State. Learn how energy storage is being integrated in New York City today, and how the public and private sector are accelerating storage deployment in America´s largest city. Hear how energy storage applications are being designed and executed with the complimentary goals of accelerating our transition to clean energy, improving public health in environmental justice communities, and strengthening community resilience. Listen as experts debate the greatest barriers and opportunities in New York´s emerging energy storage market."

Stephen Wemple (Director, Utility of the Future, Con Edison)
Dave Hebert (Director of Distributed Energy Resources Sales, Enel X)
Nicole Spina (Senior Project Manager for Smart and Sustainable Cities, New York City Economic Development Corporation)
Stephen Lassiter (Public Policy Manager, Sunrun)
Angelica Ramdhari (Director, Resilient Solar, Solar One) – Moderator

Environmental sustainability places increasing emphasis on energy storage for residential, commercial and industrial uses.

Keeping the lights on: A look at energy storage during and beyond COVID-19

By Ron MacDonald (CEO & President of Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc.) on ResourceClips.com (May 4, 2020)

Despite the wrecking ball that the pandemic has imposed on the global economy, businesses and residences continue to need reliable power. Since the discovery of electricity, we have sought effective methods to store that energy for use on demand. Over the last century, the energy storage industry has advanced, adapted and transformed in response to shifting energy requirements and advances in technology.

Our global initiative to control the coronavirus has meant many residents stayed at home and factories shut down. That had an unintended effect—less air pollution. Cleaner air can improve public health, maybe even save lives.

Energy storage can help us maintain a cleaner world by creating the economics needed to support more investment into clean, green renewable energy. Due to concerns about the environmental impacts of fossil fuels and the capacity and resilience of energy grids around the world, engineers and policymakers are increasingly turning their attention to energy storage solutions.

The global rise in electricity generation from renewable sources has led to increased demand for advanced batteries that can be used to firm this intermittent supply. This requirement is particularly important in areas where grid connections may be tenuous, unreliable or even non-existent. Additional demand for advanced batteries is presented by grid applications such as peak-shifting and T&D (Transmission and Distribution) deferral.

Energy storage systems provide a wide array of technological approaches to managing our power supply in order to create a more resilient energy infrastructure and bring cost savings to utilities and consumers.

Demand for the more traditional battery backup application is also increasing for reasons such as the desire to replace diesel generators and the increasing reliance of business on a dependable energy source. Without batteries, solar panels and wind turbines become useless when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. Batteries allow the use of electricity whenever it’s needed, not only when it’s generated.

MarketsandMarkets’ study COVID-19 Impact on Battery Energy Storage Market states the market is projected to grow from US$5.7 billion in 2020 to US$7.3 billion by 2021. The study adds that the “major factors driving the battery energy storage industry include the growing need for continuous power for critical infrastructure sectors and the rising need to integrate renewable energy sources and rural electrification.”

One of the challenges to growing a North American energy storage industry has been a dependency on a supply chain of hardware components, metals and chemicals, many of which come from outside North America. As well, metals such as lithium and vanadium used in some batteries are impacted by price volatility and security of supply.

However, those same risks do not apply to zinc-air batteries. Zinc is abundant and inexpensive, with a significant North American supply. Its chemistry is robust and safe. Our zinc-air battery has decoupled energy and power, making it one of the lowest-cost long-duration battery storage solutions available.

Post-pandemic, there is no doubt that our collective future requires clean air and our pathway to that environmentally sound planet demands energy storage systems. A “bet” on energy storage is a wager that will deliver a cleaner planet that will thrive for current and future generations.

Ron MacDonald is President/CEO of Zinc8 Energy Solutions (CSE:ZAIR), the leader in zinc-air battery technology. The zinc-air flow battery from Zinc8 is an energy storage system designed to serve a wide range of long-duration applications for microgrids and utilities. He can be reached at ron@zinc8energy.com and on LinkedIn.

Intermittent generation and off-grid consumption both call for energy storage.

Energy storage in New York: If it can make it here, it can make it anywhere

By Ron MacDonald (CEO & President of Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc.) on RenewableEnergyWorld.com (March 27, 2020)

As COVID-19 wreaks havoc in our collective world and we socially isolate to flatten the curve, “everything works – and will continue to work – as long as we have electricity. It’s what keeps the lights on, the oxygen flowing, the information going. Everything is the grid, the grid, the grid,” said Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal on March 19, 2020. As New York’s Governor Cuomo champions his state’s response to the virus in a historic fashion, he had earlier laid the groundwork to ground-breaking energy storage initiatives.

On December 13, 2019, Governor Cuomo announced energy storage initiatives that “will provide enough electricity for 1.2 million homes and produce $2 billion in benefits to New Yorkers.” “As the federal government continues to ignore the real and imminent dangers of climate change, New York is aggressively pursuing clean energy alternatives to protect our environment and conserve resources,” Governor Cuomo said. “These unprecedented energy efficiency and energy storage targets will set a standard for the rest of the nation to follow, while supporting and creating jobs in these cutting-edge renewable industries.”

Long-duration energy storage is no longer a pipe dream or the machinations of a few pilot programs. It is a mandated objective of the Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Green New Deal to build out 3 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030. The planets have aligned to sustain a complete energy storage solution to support the renewable energy and electric vehicle industries, which demand the need for the rapid development of automotive and mass storage batteries. Long-duration energy storage allows energy producers to send excess electricity over the electricity transmission grid to provisional electricity storage sites that become energy suppliers when electricity demand is greater.

Our company’s (Zinc8 Energy Solutions) contract award and project collaboration with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and private sector deployment agreement with Digital Energy supported by NYSERDA, both help advance Governor Cuomo’s Green New Deal by achieving the aggressive energy storage goal and by supporting a nation-leading commitment of 100% electricity from emission-free sources by 2040.

This dramatic change demands the active leadership of New York’s energy powerbrokers. William Acker, Executive Director of an event the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium believes that New York State can be a global leader in energy storage technology, including applications in grid storage, transportation and power electronics.

“New York State is actively pursuing commercially ready technologies that will help grow a clean energy economy and improve the reliability, efficiency and overall performance of our electric power delivery system,” said Acker.

Governor Cuomo has been a vocal proponent of energy storage sector in general realizing its important role in reducing costs, protecting the environment and improving the resilience and strength of the state’s infrastructure in the face of natural disasters and other emergencies. He has invested in new battery technologies and energy storage systems, which are helping to develop working prototypes that demonstrate the ability of these advanced energy systems to harden the state’s electric grid and diversify transportation fuel.

As an energy storage company CEO, I and the whole team at Zinc8 Energy Solutions, applaud Governor Cuomo for his tireless actions in developing an electrifying roster of talent that is diligently working to implement the benefits of grid management solutions in New York State.

Energy storage as pure as air! Interview with Ron MacDonald, Zinc8 Energy Solutions

See interview on TheEnergyBit.com (April 8, 2020)

Previous Rockstone Coverage

Report #9: “The Empire State is accelerating renewable energy development as part of its COVID-19 recovery efforts“

Report #8: “Supporting the Clean Energy Industry Through the COVID-19 Response“

Report #7: “Renewable energy stocks could be the first to recover, says JPMorgan“

Report #6: “DEATH OF AN ILL-FATED BULL MARKET AND BIRTH OF A CLEAN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE OF RESILIENCE“

Report #5: “First Private Sector Energy Storage Deployment Contract for Zinc8 Energy Solutions: Second Commercial Agreement in New York City“

Report #4: “Visiting the Zinc8 Energy Storage Development and Production Facility: The Dawn of the Utility-Scale Battery Era“

Report #3: “The Largest State-Owned Power Utility in the USA Announces Collaboration with Zinc8 Energy Solutions“

Report #2: “MGX Renewables becomes Zinc8 Energy Solutions“

Report #1: “Bridging the Renewable Energy Infrastructure Gap“

Company Details

Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc.
#1 – 8765 Ash Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6P 6T3
Phone: +1 604 558 1406
investors@zinc8energy.com (Patrick)
www.zinc8energy.com

ISIN: CA98959U1084 / CUSIP: 98959U108

Shares Issued & Outstanding: 75,711,374

Chart

Canada Symbol (CSE): ZAIR
Current Price: $0.315 CAD (05/06/2020)
Market Capitalization: $24 Million CAD

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Germany Symbol / WKN (Tradegate): 0E9 / A2P15E
Current Price: €0.205 EUR (05/06/2020)
Market Capitalization: €16 Million EUR

Contact:
Rockstone Research
Stephan Bogner (Dipl. Kfm.)
8260 Stein am Rhein, Switzerland
Phone: +41-44-5862323
Email: info@rockstone-research.com
www.rockstone-research.com

Disclaimer: This report contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Rockstone Research, Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. and Zimtu Capital Corp. caution investors that any forward-looking information provided herein is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc.´s public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through their profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Please read the full disclaimer within the full research report as a PDF (here) as fundamental risks and conflicts of interest exist. Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. pays Zimtu Capital Corp. to provide this report and other investor awareness services.The author, Stephan Bogner, holds a long position in Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. and is being paid by Zimtu Capital Corp. for the preparation and distribution of this report, whereas Zimtu Capital Corp. also holds a long position in Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. The picture of the skyline at the article "Keeping the lights on" has been obtained and licenced from birdymeo, whereas the picture below iat the article "Energy storage in New York: If it can make it here, it can make it anywheres" has been sourced from Fotolia / Eisenhans.