Dartmouth company bringing 'game-changer' e-batteries to global markets

Zen Electric of Dartmouth, N.S., says a new $1.25-million investment will help them bring home-grown battery technology to the world.

The money from North South Power Company, an electricity provider in Nigeria, will allow them to add five new employees to their six-person team this year and continue research and development, said Ravi Kempaiah, Zen's co-founder.

"These batteries last four times longer than anything on the market. So, especially in hot climate conditions, this can be a game changer," said Kempaiah after the announcement Wednesday.

Zen builds batteries for electric bikes and light personal vehicles like mopeds that can last eight years, using technology pioneered at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"This … eliminates so much more greenhouse gases and then reduces the requirement for mining of these battery materials"

Kempaiah, originally from Bangalore, India, finished his PhD in Chicago and moved to Halifax in 2021 to work with Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie. Dahn is considered a world leader in lithium-ion battery research and he sent in a video of congratulations to the event.

The batteries Zen creates with Dahn's technology have already caught the attention of many electric transportation companies in India, other parts of Asia and Africa where people rely on bikes and scooters all year, said Kempaiah.

The batteries can also make a huge difference in areas without a reliable electrical grid, Kempaiah said, since they can deliver power back to someone's home. One of their moped batteries has about 3,000 watt hours of capacity where a typical home backup electrical system has 500 watt hours, he said.

"There's world-class battery research happening right here in Halifax and that's going to be impacting millions of people in Asia and Africa. So we should be very proud of that," Kempaiah said.

Olayinka Peters, president of the Canadian branch of North South Power, agreed.

"We saw Ravi, we saw the commitment of his team and we decided to go with him," Peters said.

She added that they were interested in supporting a Halifax-area company because "it's quiet. It's better, more relaxed from the hustle and bustle of the busy cities of Toronto and the rest."

Mayor Mike Savage of Halifax spoke at the event, and said it's exciting to see the city attracting the "best and brightest from around the world" based on the strength of its universities and research institutions.

"Sea level rise and storm surge and the impacts of the environment are affecting us — and not only that, but we have a global responsibility to other citizens in the world to do what we can on that front," Savage told the crowd.

Although the upfront cost of Zen's e-bikes are more than many models on the market, starting at $2,900, Kempaiah said they cost less in the long run given their battery lifespan. 

But local companies will set the prices of e-mopeds and e-bikes in Asian and African markets because Zen is supplying the batteries alone in those areas, Kempaiah said.

The plan is to build batteries for North American markets in Dartmouth, and open a site in India to handle business from Asia and Africa. For Nova Scotians, the eShop in Bayers Lake expected to open in May will carry Zen e-bikes.

"We want to grow this company in such a way that we can build electric bike batteries, electric snowmobile batteries, electric boat batteries right here in Halifax," Kempaiah said.

Kempaiah hopes to bring in $100 million in revenue and have a team of 50 people in Dartmouth within the next four years.