Minnesota college to add zinc battery to extensive green energy portfolio

The University of Minnesota Morris is adding a large battery to its campus energy setup: a 1-megawatt, 6-megawatt-hour zinc battery from a company called Eos. The battery is expected to be up and running in 2027 and is paid for by a state grant from Minnesota's Legislative-Citizen Commission on Natural Resources. It's designed to handle cold northern winters without needing much extra heating or cooling equipment to keep it working.

The local utility, Otter Tail Power, will own and run the battery, and it will connect directly to the utility's grid rather than just serving the campus alone. Minnesota's Public Utilities Commission approved the project in March 2026. Software from a company called OATI will control when the battery charges and discharges based on grid needs. The university plans to study the battery's performance over its expected 20-year life, using the campus as a kind of test community since it has steady, city-like electricity demand from nearly 1,500 people a day.

This battery joins other energy projects already on campus, including a lithium-ion battery, thermal storage, wind turbines, solar panels, and a solar-plus-farming setup. For homeowners, this isn't a program you can sign up for, but it's a sign that utilities are testing longer-lasting battery technology that could eventually support grid reliability in small towns and communities beyond just this one campus.