ZBB Energy Corp.
N93 W14475 Whittaker Way, Menomonee Falls
Industry: Power controls and battery systems that connect alternative energy sources to commercial, residential and industrial buildings
Employees: 30
Technological advances in solar and wind power generation have grown rapidly in recent years, allowing both sources to operate more efficiently. Because of those advances and the rising costs of utility-generated electricity, many predict that renewable energy sources will play a larger role in commercial and residential power generation in the future.
Menomonee Falls-based ZBB Energy Corp. is poised to capitalize on the continued evolution of alternative energy sources, as well as the increasing demand for electricity.
From its 75,000-square-foot facility, the company produces two types of products – its ZESS POWR PECC (power and energy control center) and a series of zinc bromide batteries.
The PECC operates much like an energy source traffic cop, said Dan Nordloh, vice president of sales and marketing. The system connects to alternative power sources, batteries that can store excess power generated by those systems, backup power generators and the grid, and connects those sources to a power-using source like a residential, commercial or industrial building.
As buildings use power, the PECC is able to determine how much power to use from which source, based on cost, availability and time of day.
“The PECC is like the brain of the (power) system,” said Eric Apfelbach, president and chief executive officer of ZBB. “It determines how a renewable system integrates into a building or an operation.”
The PECC is frequently paired with ZBB’s zinc bromide batteries, which are designed to store power that is generated by alternative energy sources. The batteries, which can last 20 years with minimal maintenance, are capable of “deep draws” in which they operate for long times while delivering large amounts of power.
ZBB is now selling its PECC systems and zinc bromide batteries for applications such as communications towers, commercial buildings, remote military operations and disaster relief. When electronic vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt are introduced, the company expects to sell its PECC system to interface with vehicle charging stations.
“(The PECC) acts like a shock absorber to the grid when one of these vehicles is plugged in,” Nordloh said. “We can put one of these vehicles on the grid on a measured basis instead of being a sudden drain.”
Next June, ZBB expects to release a third-generation design of its zinc bromide battery, which is expected to sell at lower cost with longer life cycle. The company has partnered with Germantown-based MGS Manufacturing to develop injection molding machinery and automated systems to build most of the battery, which will help hold down costs, Apfelbach said.
“MGS tested how far we could go with automated manufacturing and came up with a custom set of automated materials and tools,” he said. “Our chemical and electrical engineers came up with a new proprietary electrode assembly.
“We’ll cut a lot of the labor out of the labor and yield issues. The labor content drops significantly with automation, and reliability goes up. These need to be like a medical device (in terms of reliability) and every aspect of the process needs to be with that in mind.”
This summer, ZBB was visited by President Barack Obama. The company previously received a $1.3 million loan from the federal stimulus program.
In its third quarter earnings report, ZBB reported no revenue, largely because it is waiting for some yet-to-be-shipped components to be certified by Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Nordloh said.
The company believes the new generation of zinc bromide batteries, which will be able to deliver large amounts of power over long times, will be ideal for backup power systems, in addition to helping store excess power from renewable sources. When it is able to produce large amounts of the batteries, ZBB believes sales will increase dramatically.
ZBB, which is publicly traded on the AMEX stock exchange, currently has 30 employees in Menomonee Falls and six in its Australian office. The company believes its employment will double next year, Apfelbach said.
“We’re light, lean and mean now,” he said. “It will mostly be engineering and administrative positions, and the rest will be in assembly.”
ZBB believes its PECC technology will be its best source of long-term growth and success.
“We think this will be a century of power electronics,” Apfelbach said. “For cars, military (applications and more), there has got to be new power electronics to help with all of these renewable sources. And they will go through things like the PECC.
“We think there will be opportunities like crazy in power electronics over the next 10 years,” he said.
