In the rapidly evolving energy sector, the reliance on lithium-ion batteries has become a double-edged sword. While they have propelled advancements in various technologies, their limitations—such as supply chain volatility and limited lifespans—are becoming increasingly evident. Addressing these challenges, India’s Offgrid Energy Labs has emerged with a promising alternative.
Established seven years ago and incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Offgrid Energy Labs has developed a proprietary zinc-bromine-based battery system named ZincGel. This innovative technology offers 80–90% of the energy efficiency found in traditional lithium-ion batteries but at a significantly reduced levelized cost of storage. The startup asserts that ZincGel’s design not only enhances performance but also ensures cost-effectiveness, making it a viable solution for large-scale energy storage needs.
The global surge in power demand has intensified the need for efficient and sustainable energy storage solutions. India, recognizing this imperative, has set ambitious targets: increasing its non-fossil energy capacity tenfold—from 50 gigawatts to 500 gigawatts—by 2030. Additionally, the nation aims to achieve 236 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage capacity by 2031–32. To support these goals, the Indian government announced a ₹54 billion (approximately $612 million) funding plan in June to develop 30 gigawatt-hour battery storage systems. However, a significant hurdle remains: the global dominance of China in the lithium supply chain, which poses challenges for countries like India that are striving for energy independence.
Offgrid Energy Labs is positioning its ZincGel technology as a strategic solution to these challenges. By utilizing materials that are abundantly available, ZincGel offers a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to lithium-based systems. This approach not only mitigates supply chain risks but also aligns with global efforts to diversify energy storage technologies.
To scale its operations and bring ZincGel to the market, Offgrid Energy Labs has successfully raised $15 million in Series A funding. The company plans to construct a 10-megawatt-hour demonstration facility in the United Kingdom, slated for completion by the first quarter of 2026. Following this, the startup aims to commercialize ZincGel, with plans for a gigafactory in India as the subsequent phase.
Tejas Kusurkar, co-founder and CEO of Offgrid Energy Labs, emphasized the importance of both innovation and affordability in addressing market gaps. He stated, Not only should we be addressing a gap in the market from an application standpoint, but we should also make it financially viable, because there have been technologies and batteries in the past globally, which have the solution, but they’re so expensive that they’re not widely adopted.
Kusurkar, who holds a Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur, co-founded the company in 2018 alongside Brindan Tulachan (also a Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur), Rishi Srivastava, and Ankur Agarwal. The team identified a significant gap in the stationary storage market, which required batteries that are safer, more resilient, and built on a more accessible supply chain.
Over the past six years, Offgrid Energy Labs has dedicated itself to developing its battery technology, securing more than 25 intellectual property families and over 50 assets across markets, including the U.S., U.K., India, China, Australia, and Japan. The ZincGel battery is based on zinc-bromide chemistry with a proprietary water-based electrolyte, resulting in a low risk of fire.
ZincGel is also capable of handling longer discharges (6–12 hours) multiple times throughout its lifetime and can last twice as long as a typical lithium-ion battery, Kusurkar said. Furthermore, the battery utilizes a carbon-based cathode for both fast charging and discharging.
While zinc-based batteries are not a new concept, Offgrid Energy Labs differentiates itself through its patented assets that help reduce costs. The ZincGel batteries can also reduce the need for using graphite, which helps bring down their production cost.
Ultimately, customers care about the same performance, better price, or better performance, same price, Srivastava told TechCrunch.
Offgrid Energy Labs’ technology is also designed to allow for tweaking or sub-optimizing the battery based on the application. This means that these zinc batteries can operate independently of environmental conditions and provide energy storage even at temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius, Srivastava said.
The startup is targeting industries with net-zero goals that want to maximize renewable energy use by integrating battery storage. Its batteries are also being explored for applications such as peak shifting and decentralized, off-grid energy solutions. Shell — which invested in Offgrid during its seed round through its corporate venture arm — and Tata Power are among the early testers. The start is also in talks with global players, including Europe’s Enel Group, to develop batteries tailored to their specific use cases.
So far, Offgrid Energy Labs has built its battery tech manually at a tinkering lab in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida. However, the startup plans to leverage its facility in the U.K. to demonstrate its technology to early customers next year.
The UK facility will have a carbon footprint 50% lower than that of a typical lithium battery gigafactory, Srivastava said, adding that the startup has opted for simpler manufacturing processes to reduce both capital and operational expenses.
Asked why the U.K. — and not India — was chosen for its first facility, Srivastava said, as Europe offers a strong ecosystem and is already a hub for battery manufacturing. The startup already has co-founders Kusurkar and Tulachan based in the U.K. to help with local operations. Still, the startup sees India as one of its key markets once the batteries are ready for commercialization in 2026.
The Series A round was led by Archean Chemicals, a Chennai-based specialty chemicals manufacturer, which now holds a 21% stake in the startup, along with participation from Ankur Capital.
Srivastava told TechCrunch that Archean’s participation is a strategic alignment, as the publicly listed company has considerable expertise in bromine manufacturing and supply chain management.
The startup is valued at around $58 million post-money.
