Hindustan Zinc and JNCASR Create New Zinc-Ion Battery Prototypes for Big Energy Storage

Hindustan Zinc and JNCASR Create New Zinc-Ion Battery Prototypes for Big Energy Storage

February 7, 2026

New Delhi – Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), working with the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), has developed stable zinc-ion battery pouch cell prototypes aimed at storing large amounts of renewable power such as solar energy. The breakthrough represents a significant step in building India’s own advanced energy storage technology, which is crucial for balancing power supply from green sources.

The prototypes were made using low-cost electrolyte materials that improve stability and enable the batteries to charge and discharge under conditions similar to real renewable energy systems. Although zinc-ion batteries currently have lower performance than lithium-ion versions, they have important advantages: they use abundant and inexpensive zinc, are safer due to non-flammable aqueous electrolytes, and show potential for large-scale, long-duration energy storage.

HZL said the collaboration is part of efforts to develop affordable and scalable energy storage solutions that can support India’s growing integration of solar and other renewables into the national grid. The testing of these prototypes under realistic conditions, including solar energy capture and release cycles, shows they could help store surplus renewable power and release it when demand is high, improving grid reliability.

Industry experts see this development as an important milestone in reducing reliance on imported battery technologies and boosting India’s capability in clean energy infrastructure, although further work is still needed to improve energy density and cycle life for commercial use.