On October 17, 2025, the "Intrinsically Safe Battery Energy Storage System R&D Project (based on non-fluoride ion exchange membranes)" wrapped up open competitive negotiations and released its award announcement. ZH Energy is partnering with Guangdong National Research Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Co., Ltd. (alongside the National Advanced Energy Storage Innovation Center, or "NIC" for short) to co-develop this intrinsically safe energy storage system centered on non-fluoride ion exchange membranes.This collaboration links national-level R&D capabilities with industrial technology providers — marking another authoritative endorsement for ZH Energy, which has long focused on non-fluoride ion exchange membrane tech and achieved steady breakthroughs in large-scale deployment and industrial application.

As a national-level advanced energy storage R&D institution, the NIC has long focused on key breakthroughs in long-duration energy storage, international standard systems, safe grid operation, and system integration. It emphasizes “safety, efficiency, and scalability” and aims to build a national energy storage innovation platform and an international collaboration bridge.This project centers on the “intrinsically safe” route, recognizing the non-fluoride ion exchange membrane’s strengths in safety, green attributes, and sustainable manufacturing from the material perspective. In other words, this is more than a procurement move—it’s a choice of technical route and industrial ecosystem, with the national-level institution directly endorsing the strategic potential and future value of the non-fluoride membrane path.

ZH Energy non-fluoride ion exchange membrane isn’t an overnight success; it’s an industrialized outcome of over a decade of technical accumulation. The company now has a mature end-to-end system covering R&D, membrane solution compounding, engineering coating, and mass delivery, with capabilities in membrane material design, large-scale manufacturing, and delivery verification. Today, the non-fluoride ion exchange membrane has evolved from lab technology to a mature industrial product: it matches or even outperforms perfluorinated membranes in key electrochemical performance, while achieving significant cost optimization.

Performance Comparison Between PBI Flow Battery Membranes and Commercial Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membranes

In recent years, we have accumulated and tracked verification from over 150 global customers. The non-fluoride ion exchange membrane has demonstrated outstanding performance in flow systems such as vanadium-alloy, titanium-bromine, zinc-manganese, zinc-bromine, zinc-iron, iron-alloy, as well as in the field of electrodialysis separation. User data confirms: the non-fluoride ion exchange membrane (represented by PBI) is not a "cheap substitute"—it is a new optimal solution that balances the triangle of performance, cost, and environmental impact.

This joint system R&D project with NIC marks a key leap for non-fluoride membranes from the material end to the system end: transforming from a "substitute membrane" to "system underlying capability", advancing from "technical verification" to "engineering deployment", and evolving from domestic validation to global standards. In the future, taking this opportunity, ZH Energy will conduct in-depth cooperation with more national-level research institutions, power grid companies, central power enterprises, and overseas material laboratories to jointly promote the global application of non-fluoride ion exchange membranes and accelerate the implementation of green energy storage systems. We look forward to verifying and expanding the application boundaries of non-fluoride ion exchange membranes with you.

Intrinsic safety will become the next entry ticket for the energy storage industry. Non-fluoride ion exchange membranes will also be the new answer for global flow energy storage materials.

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