Hindustan Zinc to collaborate with JNCASR, Govt. of India

Hindustan Zinc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), a premier institute sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. This collaboration aims to develop new variants of zinc materials to propel the commercialization of zinc-based batteries.

The partnership between Hindustan Zinc and JNCASR marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of battery technologies, leveraging zinc's abundant resource availability, cost effectiveness and sustainable practices. At present, lithium-ion batteries dominate the market but lithium availability, geographic concentration of mineral processing, and concerns around safety relating to combustion issues pose some key challenges to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions. Above all, lithium is far costlier (more than four times) compared to zinc which is much more affordable. Zinc-based batteries are better alternatives to lithium based batteries mainly due to properties like long duration storage, cost-effectiveness, durability and proven safety track record.