The BESSt Company introduces lithium-free zinc-polyiodide battery offering compact, safe, and scalable multi-day energy storage for data centers, AI, and industry.
The BESSt Company, founded by Tesla alumna Joley Michaelson, has unveiled a proprietary zinc-polyiodide redox flow battery designed to transform how industries manage reliable energy. This breakthrough innovation specifically targets sectors where uninterrupted power is vital, including data centers, cold storage facilities, and rapidly expanding AI infrastructure. The technology, licensed from Battelle and validated by independent research, positions The BESSt Company as a frontrunner in the long-duration energy storage (LDES) space.
Unlike conventional solutions, the BESSt platform offers storage capacity that ranges from several hours to multiple days, enabling businesses to maintain continuous operations without compromise. Its unique chemistry eliminates dependence on lithium, rare earth elements, or flammable materials, instead relying on abundant, safe, and cost-effective alternatives. The system’s compact footprint also makes it more practical for deployment in space-constrained environments—something many competing LDES technologies have struggled to achieve.
The urgency for such solutions has never been greater. Global power demand is climbing, extreme weather events are driving outages, and aging grid infrastructure is increasingly unreliable. While industries have tried to adapt with oversized renewable systems, diesel generators, or lithium-ion batteries, each of these options has significant limitations. Lithium-ion batteries, in particular, were not designed for multi-day runtimes and remain vulnerable to fragile supply chains. Traditional LDES systems, meanwhile, are often too bulky or capital-intensive for broad commercial adoption.
The BESSt battery changes this dynamic. It bridges the gap between renewable generation and real-world energy needs, storing intermittent power and converting it into a stable, always-available supply. This makes “any-duration” energy storage—whether hours or days—not only possible but practical for enterprises of all sizes.
“Energy storage has always been the missing link,” said Joley Michaelson, founder and CEO of The BESSt Company. “Lithium-ion cannot deliver the uptime businesses now require, and most long-duration technologies were built for large-scale utilities, not the space and retrofit constraints of real-world infrastructure. We built this battery for those conditions and at a cost point that supports wide deployment.”
Backed by more than 100 peer-reviewed studies and validation by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the zinc-polyiodide chemistry delivers unmatched safety, resilience, and lifecycle performance. According to Kevin Meagher, Chief Science Officer at The BESSt Company, “Our system can store energy for days without degradation, withstand extreme environments, and deliver dependable power even when the grid falters. That’s the kind of infrastructure-grade reliability the market has been waiting for.”
Further distinguishing itself, The BESSt Company’s battery achieves up to 20 times the energy density of conventional vanadium flow batteries, currently the most widely used LDES technology. Its modular, space-efficient design enables straightforward integration into existing facilities, making multi-hour to multi-day storage both deployable and scalable.
With this launch, The BESSt Company sets a new benchmark for clean, reliable, and adaptable long-duration energy storage—potentially reshaping how critical industries approach resilience in the clean energy era.
