- Keith Cleland co-founded Aqua-Cell Energy to develop affordable, saltwater-based batteries as a sustainable alternative to lithium for solar energy storage.
- Backed by Waterloo’s Velocity and Alberta funding, the startup is scaling pilot projects to meet the growing demand for clean energy storage.
University of Waterloo researchers, students, and alumni continue to drive affordable and sustainable innovation to combat the climate crisis. Keith Cleland, a master’s student at Waterloo University and CEO of Aqua-Cell Energy, stands out for his dedication to clean energy and pioneering work in electrochemical energy storage.
Cleland co-founded Aqua-Cell Energy Inc., a startup that designs safe, affordable energy storage systems tailored for commercial and industrial solar power. Drawing on his passion for environmental sustainability and his deep expertise in electrochemistry, he launched a company that aims to revolutionise how we store clean energy.
During his undergraduate years, Cleland began experimenting with a saltwater-based battery, an idea that planted the seeds for his future ventures. In 2019, he joined the University of Waterloo as a master’s student under the supervision of Dr Jeff Gostick in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Meanwhile, Cleland developed a prototype battery in the Porous Materials Engineering and Analysis Lab that could store solar energy and generate electricity.
He teamed up with Ellsworth Bell (MASc’21), and together, they set out with a single vision: to help clean the world by moving away from fossil fuels. This clear mission attracted the support of Velocity, the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship. Aqua-Cell Energy thrived in its Venture Ready programme and won several pitch competitions, which helped fuel its early momentum.
Cleland notes that as electricity demand grows, particularly with the rise of electric vehicles and future-forward technologies, the world will require vast energy storage to maintain a clean and stable power grid. He points out a major limitation with current technology: “With lithium batteries too expensive for long-duration storage, Aqua-Cell Energy is everything lithium is not.”
The company’s flow battery technology circulates saltwater through a battery stack. When electricity is applied, the system stores energy in the saltwater. Running the process in reverse generates electricity, offering a clean, efficient energy cycle.
“Our technology is the world’s most environmentally friendly battery storage option,” Cleland says. “And using low-cost saltwater as the electrolyte enables long-duration energy storage of up to 12 hours at an affordable price.”
Aqua-Cell designed its batteries to be the size of shipping containers, making them easy to deploy at industrial and commercial sites. These units provide a cost-effective, scalable solution to the energy storage challenge facing the renewable energy sector.
Operating out of Edmonton, Alberta, Aqua-Cell Energy has forged a lasting partnership with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology to help scale its pilot projects.
The company recently secured $500,000 in grant funding from Alberta Innovates, the Ministry of Technology and Innovation, and the Government of Alberta. This support will fund the construction of a new battery, which Aqua-Cell plans to deploy later this year as part of a pilot project with a local utility provider.
As interest in Aqua-Cell’s saltwater batteries grows, Cleland emphasises the need for continued funding to expand production. He remains optimistic: after completing a few successful pilots, including the current one underway, he believes utility and industrial companies will embrace this clean, future-focused alternative.
“Our goal,” says Cleland, “is to prove that sustainable, large-scale energy storage doesn’t have to come at a high environmental or financial cost. We’re ready to scale up and help power a cleaner future.”