US-based Voya Energy has unveiled an energy system that uses scrap aluminium-based metal fuel (such as used aluminium cans) and converts the fuel directly into electricity through an electrochemical process.

The integrated system requires no combustion, produces no air emissions at the point of use and can operate independently of the utility grid.

In announcing the process, Voya also announced the close of a $35m Series A financing to advance the system toward commercial deployment.

Voya is advocating the system for customers whose growth is increasingly constrained by access to reliable power. Datacentre developers, industrial operators and other large energy users often face unreliable grid connections and limited local capacity, as well as permitting challenges and growing community opposition to conventional onsite generation because of noise and local air pollution.

“Electricity demand is rising faster than the grid can expand, and businesses cannot afford to wait years for the power they need,” said Richard Wang, CEO of Voya Energy. “Voya is developing an entirely new solution: generators powered by aluminium-based fuel that can deliver clean, quiet, and dependable electricity wherever it is needed. This financing gives us the resources to turn that vision into a commercially deployable product.”

Fuel is produced from low-grade scrap aluminium and formed into pellets engineered for storage, transportation and use in Voya’s generation system. Inside the generator, the fuel reacts with air and water to produce electricity directly through a low-temperature, electrochemical process enabled by Voya’s proprietary electrolyte and metal-air cell technology.

At scale, the system is designed to provide approximately 100MW of generation capacity and 10GWh of stored energy per acre–about four times more compact than diesel generator fleets and 100 times more compact than grid-scale battery installations.

---