ZBB Energy Corp. of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, said on Wednesday that it has applied for more than $47 million in federal stimulus funds that would enable a $94.1 million investment into a new advanced battery manufacturing facility.

The proposed zinc bromide advanced flow battery energy storage manufacturing facility will produce zinc-bromide batteries used to store energy from renewable sources and from the grid to charge plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric drive vehicles, ZBB’s CEO Rob Parry said.

"We believe this market sector has the potential to be a billion dollar industry over the next few decades,” Parry said in a press release.

ZBB said it applied for cost-share financial assistance through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

ZBB wants to expand its production capacity by 15 times through the project, chairman Bill Mundell said. ZBB would attain the production goal through the expansion of its existing 75,000-square-foot plant and the addition of a 363,000-square-foot, fully automated plant. The project would create about 500 jobs, according to the company.

ZBB also announced that it has appointed CapStone Investments as its bankers and financial advisers for the project. CapStone Investments is a full-service investment firm, servicing a large institutional account base.

Source: Bizjournals.com