Offgrid Energy Labs has commissioned its first pilot manufacturing facility for ZincGel® batteries in the UK, marking the commercial-scale production of its India-developed zinc-bromine battery technology.
Offgrid Energy Labs, an Indian battery technology company, has commissioned its first pilot manufacturing facility for its proprietary ZincGel® batteries in the United Kingdom, marking the transition of its home-grown energy storage technology from laboratory development to commercial-scale production.The company on Tuesday announced the launch of a 10 MWh demonstration manufacturing line at Hook, Hampshire. The facility will serve as Offgrid’s first commercial pilot production line for its zinc-bromine battery technology.India’s energy storage demand gathers paceThe launch comes as India steps up efforts to expand energy storage capacity to support its rapidly growing renewable energy sector. The country has already achieved 50 per cent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources ahead of schedule and is targeting 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030.According to the Central Electricity Authority, India will require about 411.4 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2031-32, including over 236 GWh from battery energy storage systems, underscoring the need for safe, long-duration and cost-effective storage technologies.ZincGel targets safer, long-duration energy storageOffgrid said its ZincGel technology, developed in India, is based on zinc-bromine chemistry and has been designed for large-scale manufacturing and commercial deployment. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, the company said, ZincGel batteries are non-flammable, eliminating the risk of thermal runaway that can lead to battery fires.The batteries are designed to operate at 100 per cent depth of discharge daily, offer discharge durations of 6 to 16 hours, and have an expected operating life of around 20 years.The technology is aimed at grid-scale applications such as renewable energy integration, peak-load management, microgrids and industrial backup power systems.Published on July 7, 2026
