Eos Energy Storage LLC deployed the latest generation of its zinc-based batteries at two recently completed installations, one with Duke Energy Corp. in North Carolina and another at the University of California in San Diego, the company announced June 19.

Both 30-kW/120-kWh demonstrations are undergoing commissioning this summer at test sites on both coasts ahead of the company's planned scale-up of the technology in 2020.

"We have about 10 years of relentless testing and optimization under our belt," Eos Senior Vice President Philippe Bouchard said in an interview. "Eos is now ready to scale."

Founded in 2008, the Edison, N.J.-based company has raised nearly $100 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Eos is actively seeking additional funds to build a new factory at an undisclosed location with an annual manufacturing capacity of 1 GWh, Bouchard said.

"The inbound interest has been immense," the executive added, forecasting "several hundred million [dollars] of business in the next few years."

A big step in that direction could come through Eos' agreement with Convergent Energy and Power LP to supply a 10-MW battery system in California by the end of 2020. Known as the Henrietta D Energy Storage Project, the system is underpinned by a state-approved 20-year power supply contract with utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co., or PG&E.

However, as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding with its parent company, PG&E Corp., the utility is reviewing contracts that it may wish to cancel. That uncertainty has moved three energy storage developers holding contracts with PG&E to recently seek and gain permission to cancel agreements, citing concern over development costs. Convergent has not asked the bankruptcy court for such relief.

The demonstration projects in North Carolina and San Diego could help to validate Eos' technology for such larger projects. The system with Duke is coupled with a 50-kW solar array at a utility test site in Charlotte, N.C. The project in San Diego, recently funded by the California Energy Commission, will test the battery technology's multi-hour discharge capability for reducing utility demand charges and managing energy consumption at commercial and industrial sites.