The Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office launched the Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize, a $4.8 million challenge seeking cost-effective energy storage solutions that can support an industrial facility’s thermal or electric energy needs.
Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office
January 16, 2025
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Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) launched the Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize, a $4.8 million challenge seeking cost-effective energy storage solutions that can support an industrial facility’s thermal or electric energy needs. Innovative energy storage technologies will be critical to help the United States meet rising electricity demand and position the nation to lead in global markets.
America’s industrial sector creates materials and products critical to our daily lives – from the cement used to build our roads to the steel and iron in our buildings, railways, and appliances. This vital sector accounts for one-third of the nation’s primary energy use and increasing its flexibility is essential to using our energy resources as efficiently as possible. Energy storage solutions that can be charged by thermal or electrical sources and provide heating, cooling, and/or power to industrial facilities can increase efficiency, reduce pollution, and help improve the public health of Americans in communities across the country. Enabling data center flexibility through energy storage solutions is also a key part of DOE’s strategy to manage the expected rise in electricity demand from data centers as outlined in the new 2024 Report on U.S. Data Center Energy Use. Innovative energy storage solutions can reduce additional burden on the electric grid, while increasing resilience, reducing costs, and giving manufacturers greater control and flexibility over the availability of energy and how it gets integrated into their processes.
For this prize, IEDO invites submissions of thermal energy storage solutions across three categories representing a range of temperatures of industrial relevance:
- Industrial cooling energy storage
- High-temperature (>300°C) industrial energy storage
- Industrial thermal storage for hybrid cooling, heating, and power.
Competitors will advance their energy storage solutions towards market adoption over the course of three phases: Design, Advance, and Validate. In the Design phase, up to 18 winners will be selected for their cost-effective concepts (with six winners expected to be selected in each category). Winning teams will each receive $100,000 in cash and be eligible to compete in Phase 2.
Applications for Phase 1 of the Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize are due April 29, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET. Only Phase 1 winners will be eligible to compete in Phase 2.
Visit the Industrial Energy Storage Prize website to learn how to apply and register for an informational webinar on Jan. 28, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET.