Proposed merger will make zinc battery developer Eos Energy a public company

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Eos Energy Storage is a private zinc battery developer with the chance to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

B. Riley Principal Merger Corp II (BMRG), a special purpose acquisition company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and Eos have executed a letter of intent for a merger which would result in Eos becoming a publicly listed company.

Investors seem fascinated by energy storage this year, the long-duration variety in particular — and Eos Energy Storage with its four- to six-hour duration, potentially joins the long duration technologies of Form Energy and Quidnet as recipients of big capital. QuantumScape, a solid-state lithium ion battery builder, received up to $200 million from Volkswagen earlier this month.

Eos claims its zinc technology, twelve years in development, is a safe, scalable, and recyclable alternative to lithium ion.

An alternative to lithium ion

Eos has spent over $160 million from investors including AltEnergy, Holtec International, Reservoir Capital Group, and Generation Capital to develop its four- to six-hour zinc battery alternative to lithium-ion chemistry.

U.S. Q1 2020 energy storage deployments reached 98 MW in Q1 of 2020, according to WoodMac, and roughly 500 MW in 2019 — of which only a few megawatts were non-lithium-ion chemistries. Lithium-ion batteries have their disadvantages — high reactivity, conflict minerals and environmental risk — but they are the clear-cut dominant winner in today’s battery race.

Eos has long touted a $160 per kilowatt-hour price target and a goal of over 10,000 cycles with its zinc hybrid cathode design. Eos has worked with Siemens and Engie. In 2016, First Solar CEO, Jim Hughes, was the chairman of the board.

Fluidic Energy, also working on a zinc-air battery, was acquired by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, and is now NantEnergy.

A pipeline of customers

Eos has a pipeline of customers focused on large-scale grid-connected storage projects and smaller-scale commercial and industrial deployments, according to the company.

“The transaction contemplates a pre-money valuation for Eos of approximately $290 million,” according to a release. The proposed merger with BRPM II would provide Eos with $225 million of new equity financing, including up to $50 million of proceeds from a fully backstopped PIPE by B. Riley Financial. The proposed transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to a long list of terms and approvals.

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