India Advances Indigenous Zinc-Air Battery Technology

¨     Indian researchers developed multiple zinc-air battery technologies during 2024 and 2025, including low-cost electrolytes, advanced catalysts, and mechanically rechargeable systems.

¨     Zinc-air batteries use zinc as the anode and oxygen from the air as the cathode reactant.

¨     They are being explored as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for stationary energy storage and electric vehicles (EVs).

¨     Zinc-air batteries belong to the metal-air battery category and generate electricity through the oxidation of zinc and the reduction of oxygen from the air.

¨     A typical zinc-air battery consists of a zinc anode, an air cathode, and an electrolyte, with aqueous (water-based) electrolytes commonly used in rechargeable designs.

¨     These batteries offer high theoretical energy density, use abundant and low-cost zinc, and have the potential to reduce dependence on critical minerals such as lithium.

¨     A research team led by Dr. S. Devaraj at SASTRA Deemed University, with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), developed a nanofluid electrolyte for rechargeable zinc-air batteries.

¨     The electrolyte uses silica and zinc oxide nanoparticles and remained stable for more than three months under laboratory conditions.

¨     The same team also developed a copper-doped manganese dioxide catalyst and produced battery-grade carbon materials by recycling discarded household water-filter carbon and used surgical face masks.

¨     Researchers at IIT Madras, led by Dr. Aravind Kumar Chandiran, are developing mechanically rechargeable zinc-air batteries for electric vehicles.

¨     Hindustan Zinc Limited signed an MoU with IIT Madras on 9 October 2024 to develop a 1 kWh electrically rechargeable zinc-air battery prototype.

¨     The prototype uses water-based electrolytes and contains no flammable materials, making it a safer and more environmentally friendly energy storage technology.