Corscale data centers have announced that they will be deploying Nickel-Zinc (NiZn) battery technology from ZincFive at their new data center campus in northern Virginia.
Unlike traditional Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) or volatile Lithium-Ion battery-based Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) solutions, ZincFive’s NiZn technology claims to offer a host of benefits to data center operators, including higher power densities, greater reliability, enhanced safety, and a lower carbon footprint.
“For Corscale, circularity and sustainability are core to our development philosophy,” said Nic Bustamante, SVP Data Center Development at Corscale. “ZincFive’s nickel-zinc battery energy storage solution provides us with a better form factor, minimises our maintenance schedule, allows us to deploy pre-commissioned capacity faster, offers a lower total cost of ownership, eliminates thermal runaway concerns, and is fully recyclable – something VRLA and Lithium-ion cannot match. When you look at the detrimental impact on the environment that lead, lithium, and cobalt pose end of life, you realise that nickel-zinc recyclability provides long-term benefits beyond the data center.”
Nickel-zinc battery systems have been around for more than 100 years. Thomas Edison received a patent for a rechargeable nickel-zinc battery system in 1901. The NiZn chemistry performs well in high-drain applications because of the higher energy-to-mass and power-to-mass ratios, and is ideal for Megawatt (MW) class UPS inverters found in today’s hyperscale data center environments.
Additionally, because nickel and zinc are abundant globally, the risks of reliance on conflict minerals are minimised.
“Corscale has integrated sustainability into their data center development philosophy,” said ZincFive CEO and Co-Founder Tim Hysell. “We have been working with Nic and the team at Corscale to deploy our BC Series UPS battery cabinets at their Gainesville Crossing data center, which will provide them with the industry’s most powerful, safe, reliable, and sustainable battery technology available. We look forward to helping Corscale standardise this technology across their data center portfolio, advancing our shared commitment to reducing carbon footprint and operating costs without sacrificing safety or performance.”
Corscale recently announced a partnership with nZero to reduce the company’s Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Corscale will use the platform to track emissions data from across its supply chain to better understand the benefits of working with ZincFive’s lighter-weight nickel-zinc technology on transportation fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
