Gelion, a global renewable energy storage company, has launched a new manufacturing facility in Western Sydney to kickstart the industrial production of its gel-based zinc bromide batteries.
Gelion’s non-lithium battery is capable of lasting for six to 12 hours and is expected to play a critical role in replacing fossil fuel-produced energy on the grid by providing new and more sustainable storage options. The battery is also designed to fit standard lead acid racks.
The company ventured into a partnership with Battery Energy to work on accelerating the battery’s speed to market.
Scaling the Gelion manufacturing capacity will also require many similar skills as those used in other legacy industrial processes, including coal fire power stations.
This means the company would be able to absorb, retain, and grow thousands of fossil fuel-reliant and otherwise diminishing jobs amid Australia’s energy transition.
Gelion looks to scale its facilities to gigafactory levels in the future and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, the company said in its statement.
“This marriage between established and new technology shows Australia could scale sovereign domestic manufacturing capacity extremely efficiently by leveraging existing processes and supply chains,” the company added.
The batteries would be supplied to the Acciona Energia solar plant in Narrava, Spain, to potentially become part of Acciona’s supplier portfolio as a renewable energy storage provider.
“We are delighted to be launching production of our breakthrough battery, proving it can be produced at scale with existing lead-acid battery manufacturing processes. Our game-changing technology will now be deployed to Acciona to support its development of renewable battery systems,” said Hannah McCaughey, chief executive of Gelion.
“It’s fantastic to see Australian scientific know-how turned into battery manufacturing capability right here in Western Sydney. Through the National Battery Strategy, the Albanese Government wants to see the creation of a thriving energy storage industry supporting renewable technologies,” Minister Ed Husic said.
