Indian Deep-Tech Startup Offgrid Energy Labs Raises $15M to Challenge China’s Dominance in Lithium Battery Market with ZincGel Technology
A seven-year-old deep-tech startup, based in India and incubated at IIT Kanpur, is challenging the dominance of lithium in battery technology with its proprietary zinc-bromine-based battery system. Dubbed ZincGel, this alternative technology delivers 80-90% of the energy efficiency of conventional lithium batteries while offering a significantly lower levelized cost of storage.
As the global demand for power increases and countries strive to expand renewable energy storage, India, in particular, aims to increase its non-fossil energy capacity tenfold by 2030. The country also targets 236 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage capacity by 2031–32 and announced a funding plan of $612 million in June to develop battery storage systems within the nation. However, like many global markets, India faces a significant challenge: China’s dominance over the lithium supply chain.
Offgrid Energy Labs believes that its ZincGel battery technology can ease supply constraints by utilizing widely available materials and offering a more cost-effective alternative to lithium-based systems. Recently, the startup raised $15 million in Series A funding to scale up its operations, with plans to build a 10-megawatt-hour demonstration facility in the UK, ready by Q1 2026. Commercialization of ZincGel is expected to follow, with an Indian gigafactory slated as the next phase.
“Not only should we be addressing a gap in the market from an application standpoint, but we should also make it financially viable,” said Tejas Kusurkar, co-founder and CEO of Offgrid Energy Labs. “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 Offgrid Energy Labs in 2018 at the institute’s Startup Incubation and Innovation Center, along with Brindan Tulachan (also a Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur), Rishi Srivastava, and Ankur Agarwal. The team observed that while lithium batteries are well-suited for mobility, the stationary storage market was underserved — and needed batteries that are safer, more resilient, and built on a supply chain that is easier to access.
Offgrid Energy Labs has spent its first six years developing battery technology and has so far secured over 25 IP families and more than 50 IP assets across markets, including the US, UK, 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 can handle longer discharges (6–12 hours) multiple times throughout its lifetime and lasts twice as long as a typical lithium-ion battery, according to Kusurkar. The battery also utilizes a carbon-based cathode for fast charging and discharging.
While zinc in batteries is not a new concept, Offgrid Energy Labs differentiates itself through its patented assets that help bring down the cost. The ZincGel batteries can also reduce the need for using graphite, which helps lower their production cost.
“Ultimately, customers care about the same performance or better price,” said Rishi Srivastava.
Offgrid Energy Labs’ technology is 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, according to Srivastava.
The startup targets 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 and Tata Power are among the early testers of Offgrid Energy Labs’ technology, while talks with global players like Europe’s Enel Group are ongoing to develop batteries tailored to their specific use cases.
To date, Offgrid Energy Labs has built its battery tech manually at a tinkering lab in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida. The startup plans to leverage its facility in the UK 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, according to Srivastava, thanks to simpler manufacturing processes aimed at reducing both capital and operational expenses.
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. The participation of Archean Chemicals is strategic due to its considerable expertise in bromine manufacturing and supply chain management. Offgrid Energy Labs sees India as one of its key markets once the batteries are ready for commercialization in 2026.
