- QinetiQ testing of SuperDielectrics’ water-based zinc cells showed up to 13x longer life with high power, 100C discharge in 36 seconds and no thermal runaway
- The company pitches its solution for AI data centers as a ‘shock absorber’ that can handle power demand spikes safely and reliably
- SuperDielectrics’ Faraday 3’s first commercial deployment is planned for early 2027, as it goes up against existing lithium-ion battery-based energy storage as an alternative that can be deployed inside the data center
Cambridge-based advanced battery technology company SuperDielectrics recently published independent test results for its upcoming water-based zinc battery, which could help cement its de facto presence in most renewable energy projects, whose output is often inconsistent.
The next generation battery offers up to 13 times longer cycle life during high power cycling, no thermal runway and charge and discharge gains that eclipse those of lithium-ion based batteries.
This makes it a great addition to critical infrastructure as well as to a new, fast-growing sector that is extremely power-hungry with huge power spikes in tow: AI data centers.
A solution that specifically addresses the AI power problem?
SuperDielectrics paints its battery technology as the holy grail of AI data center problems, and for good reason: it’s where all infrastructure spending will be concentrated over the next decade, and the company certainly wants a piece.
SuperDielectrics’ core innovation is a unique, patented polymer that enables it to deliver results that exceed those of similarly configured single-layer lithium-ion cells. With the battery utilizing zinc in addition to the proprietary polymer, the abundantly available metal could mean batteries would be cheaper, immune to geopolitical and supply chain vulnerabilities, and easier to scale.
Room temperature testing of the battery showed impressive results compared to lithium-ion based alternatives, with SuperDielectrics claiming:
– Up to 13 times longer cycle life during high power cycling (10 min charge and discharge, 100% depth of discharge);
– 10x better discharge performance (sustained >85% nominal capacity, achieved after 36 seconds)
– 8x better charging performance (sustained >70% rated capacity, achieved after 1 minute, 12 seconds)
“These results provide independent benchmarking of the technology at the heart of our batteries: a proprietary polymer separator that combines fast ion transport with the safety benefits of an aqueous electrolyte system,” noted Shelley Brown, CTO of SuperDielectrics.
“The result is an energy storage solution purpose-built for high-power, fast-cycling applications that offers an alternative to lithium-ion systems that typically rely on extensive oversizing and additional safety infrastructure to handle demanding power profiles.”
There’s more to the story that makes the solution ideal: unlike lithium-ion-based solutions, the battery is safe to install in data centers, whereas off-site deployments are currently required for lithium-ion-based solutions due to their potential as a fire hazard.
AI data centers are known to be particularly power intensive and often require significantly higher peak power when performing certain computing tasks. Lithium-ion batteries are not ideal for this because frequent charging and discharging not only degrades them quite quickly, but they also do not charge or discharge as quickly as the zinc-based offering from SuperDielectrics.
As a result, as noted by the CTO of SuperDielectrics, data centers must overcompensate for this limitation by purchasing more capacity than necessary to allow smooth operation without overstressing existing lithium-ion-based infrastructure.
There’s a trade-off, though: Zinc batteries generally sacrifice energy density to offer advantages over lithium, and SuperDielectrics’ silence on capacity doesn’t work to its advantage here.
Despite this, thanks to the AI compute demands’ almost violent power fluctuations that require a moderator, SuperDielectrics seems to have a winner on its hands, at least on paper, but it may have its limits for data centers that require longer backup times. The question that comes to mind is whether a leveling layer can scale to true storage, especially for rack-scale product deployment.
On the flip side of the equation, SuperDielectrics isn’t the only one toying with a ‘safe’ battery solution; Chinese researchers are concentrating on a similar approach, although the automotive industry is already using sodium for electric cars, which are already reaping victories in extreme low temperatures.
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