It is no secret that wind + solar + storage is now substantially cheaper than new coal. However, wind + solar + battery systems typically used in “Firm Dispatchable” power systems tend to provide power at 85-95% reliability. To deliver truly firm, 100% reliability, longer duration storage is required. Today’s start-up is one of India’s first Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) companies, MEINE Electric.
Meine has developed an Iron-Air battery which effectively “rusts” and un-rusts iron into iron oxides and back again. Iron is much cheaper than Lithium, so such batteries have the potential to be far cheaper than Lithium ion and Vanadium Redox Flow and cost competitive with alternative materials such as Zinc.
Though foreign companies are also working on Iron Air (notably Form Energy in US and Ore Energy in Europe), iron rusts very slowly, so these solutions tend to be capable of charge/discharge (C-rate) of C/100, or 100+ hours. This may be suitable for wind-heavy systems, but in solar-rich grids like India (and most tropical countries), daily rather than seasonal balancing is required. Meine Electric’s key innovation is a unique electrode system which allows them to charge and discharge much faster, enabling 24-hour storage. Combined with the make-in-India advantage, Meine Electric promises to be cheaper and more flexible than solutions from abroad.
Meine Electric is also moving fast. They have moved from the sub-Watt to kilowatt scale in just over 12 months, promising shorter development timelines than is common internationally. That is not to say the journey has not been patient. Co-founder Priyansh Mohan and the team of 16 researchers, engineers & scientists have spent years working on metal-air technologies and refining the chemistry and manufacturing techniques. Like many great startups I cover, they were not afraid to pivot, shifting from an initial focus on Aluminum-Air to Iron Air.
Meine is the balance between deep scientific expertise and sector/commercial expertise. Co-founder Stuti Kakkar brings consulting and financial experience along with a deep understanding of the economics of RE + storage projects.
Meine Electric has a deep technical moat with 4 patents granted and 35 filed/in the pipeline. The team has numerous patents and publications and they have developed a proprietary process for a cost-effective and rare-earth free electrocatalyst, allowing the system to be built entirely from Indian components.
Meine Electric is advancing multiple commercial partnerships and is on track to formalize several MOUs; they are planning to release their commercial (kW-scale) pilots in 2026, with MW-scale projects to follow in 2027-28. As India (and the world’s) RE penetration continues to grow, longer-duration storage will be required to integrate renewable energy and provide clean, firm, affordable power 24/7/365. With Meine Electric, Renewable Energy is not just substantially cheaper than fossil fuels, but also far more reliable.
