Aqueous zinc ion batteries are appealing for large scale electrochemical energy storage systems due to their inherent low cost, innate safety, and environmentally friendly nature. However new materials, electrolytes and electrode fabrication approaches are required to achieve AZIB with the needed lifetime for grid scale use. Progress toward understanding and improving the function of AZIB systems will be described in this presentation, highlighting in situ and operando characterization approaches spanning multiple chemistries.