Zen Energy is powering a new generation of electrified transportation solutions with battery technology innovation.
The Canadian company was founded by Ravi Kempaiah, who established Zen in Atlantic Canada for a specific reason.
The region is home to Dalhousie University, which houses a world-class battery research team headed by lithium-ion pioneer Jeff Dahn.
“People here [in Canada] may not know this—but in the U.S. if you say you’re working on batteries at Dalhousie, it is like you’re at the mecca of the battery research in the whole world,” Dr. Kempaiah, a post-doctoral fellow in Dahn’s renowned research group, commented last year.
“People look up to Dalhousie because of all the great work that is being done by Dr. Jeff Dahn’s lab and research group here,” he said.
Kempaiah is a cyclist, which drew him toward motorized bicycles. A Guinness World Record setter for the longest journey on a motorized bicycle at 8,200km over a month and across 12 American states, Kempaiah ultimately shifted away from e-bikes specifically to focus his effort on battery tech, the bottleneck of the sector.
Today, Zen develops long-life batteries for two- and three-wheeled EVs, home energy storage systems, and marine propulsion systems. The company claims its tech, which includes swappable batteries, can up to quadruple the lifetime of currently marketed batteries.
“Swappable batteries are similar to propane tanks,” noted Kempaiah in May. “Every minute is money. They can’t be waiting for a charge. They need to swap their battery out and keep going.”
The company, which operates a production bay in Dartmouth, recently set up a facility in India which will manufacture batteries for the North American and European markets.
Locally, Zen’s work will be bolstered by construction of a first-in-Canada battery prototyping and testing facility at Dalhousie University targeted to open in the fall of 2025: The Canadian Battery Innovation Centre.
The federal and provincial governments are supporting the Canadian Battery Innovation Centre. The capital is flowing through Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program as well as the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program.
Zen launched in 2021. The company was named this year to the Foresight 50, a list of Canadian cleantech innovators.