US start-up to unveil first rechargeable alkaline battery
Massachusetts-based company Ionic Materials is set to unveil its prototype for a solid-state, rechargeable alkaline battery at a conference for the 35th anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado. Ionic CEO Mike Zimmerman said the firm has developed a battery that has demonstrated up to 400 recharge cycles, can be made with zinc and manganese, bypassing the need for cobalt, and would not be as prone to the combustion issues affecting lithium-ion equivalents. Alkaline batteries have not so far been rechargeable, but are safer and far cheaper than lithium-ion batteries.
Cheaper and more powerful batteries are also considered by many to be the driver needed to make the cost of renewable energy technologies like wind and solar competitive with the coal, gas and nuclear power that support the national energy grid.

Ionic said it had developed prototypes of a rechargeable alkaline battery that can be made using continuous manufacturing processes similar to the making of plastic wrap. So far, the company, which is backed by William Joy, a pioneering Silicon Valley computer designer, has demonstrated up to 400 recharge cycles for its prototypes. Ionic executives say they believe they will be able to triple that.

The alkaline batteries that Ionic has developed would initially be heavier than today’s lithium-ion batteries, said Mike Zimmerman, a materials scientist who is the founder and chief executive of Ionic. But the new batteries would more than compensate for that handicap with their cost advantage and, in time, their ability to store more energy.

There are other advantages besides cost and safety. Lithium-ion batteries rely on cobalt, and using that element comes with a human cost. Cobalt mines in Africa, for example, have been accused of using child labor while leaving behind a toxic mess.

Alkaline batteries, on the other hand, use relatively abundant zinc and manganese. “Ionic can help us get lithium-ion past cobalt and completely eliminate it with alkaline,” said Mr. Joy, who is a member of Ionic’s board.