ZincFive, an Oregon company providing nickel-zinc batteries for data centers, announced Thursday that it’s partnering with SparkLabs Group to go public through a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company). The deal is valued at $600 million before additional investments.
ZincFive has nearly 2 gigawatts of battery systems either sold or under contract, and reports that its revenue more than doubled from 2024 to approximately $66.9 million last year. It ended the year with a backlog of orders totaling $81 million.
The new capital will allow ZincFive to scale manufacturing at two plants in China, and it plans to explore opportunities for opening a facility in the U.S., Bloomberg reported.
The company, based in Tualatin, Ore., just south of Portland, promotes its battery chemistry as a safer energy storage solution with a smaller footprint compared to traditional lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.
“We believe we are well-positioned to expand globally and deliver long-term value as the data center market continues to evolve,” Tod Higinbotham, ZincFive’s CEO, said in a statement.
SparkLabs, an accelerator and venture capital firm, is using Spark I Acquisition Corp. to take ZincFive public through a reverse merger. The battery maker expects to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol ZFIV.
The deal is expected to bring in at least $100 million from investors (with up to $25 million more possible), which meets the minimum cash needed to complete the merger. Current ZincFive owners are rolling all of their equity back into the new company. ZincFive also took out a $35 million short-term loan, most of which will be paid back when the deal closes.
The company has previously raised $254 million from investors including Helios Climate Ventures, Climate Investment, Senator Investment Group and Standard Investments, according to PitchBook. The company began as EnSite Power and a decade ago acquired PowerGenix System.
