The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) today announced the selectees of $15 million in awards to show that new Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) technologies will work reliably and cost effectively in the field.
May 15, 2024
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) today announced the selectees of $15 million in awards to show that new Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) technologies will work reliably and cost effectively in the field. LDES will transform the electric grid to meet the nation’s growing need for clean, reliable, efficient, cost-effective energy. This opportunity feeds into OE’s Rapid Operational Validation Initiative (ROVI), which will validate the reliability of new technologies faster than real time and help new energy storage companies get their innovations to market faster.
Demand for power is constantly fluctuating. Conditions for solar and wind energy generation can sometimes provide far more power than the grid demands in the moment. By storing excess power, the electricity grid can keep up with changing demand to ensure a cloudy, windless day does not leave American homes in the dark. The three innovative demonstration projects selected through this funding opportunity announcement will advance energy storage technologies leading to commercialization and validate their cost and performance in the field.
“Long-duration energy storage bolsters system reliability and enables every American to benefit from abundant and affordable clean energy,” said Gene Rodrigues, Assistant Secretary for Electricity. “Congratulations to the selectees for your dedication to propelling the future of energy storage and working to deliver cost-effective solutions for our nation’s electricity needs!”
OE has selected the following projects with each receiving approximately $5 million in federal funding:
- DTE Electric Co.
- Project Title: Fully Hybrid Li-Ion as LDES and Second Life Batteries Demonstration
- DTE aims to demonstrate the benefits of LDES storage through adding a lithium-ion phosphate battery to its planned hybrid Pine River Park wind and solar electric generation site.
- Federal funding: $5,000,000
- CapyBara Energy LLCP
- Project Title: Empowering Sustainable Community Revival Through Innovative Long Duration Energy Storage and Resource Reclamation (ESTER)
- CapyBara’s project will provide clean electricity to fully power the environmental remediation of mining waste. It will integrate renewable energy sources with an LDES system to support the heavy industrial processes that constitute tailings remediation.
- Federal funding: $4,914,285
- muGrid Analytics
- Project title: Project VITALITY: Vanadium Innovation to Advance Long Duration Energy Storage & Impact Tribal Sovereignty
- muGrid Analytics is teaming with the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa tribe on a microgrid project to demonstrate the benefits of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFB) at commercial and industrial scale.
- Federal funding: $4,708,005
These projects will support DOE priorities such as the Long Duration Storage Shot and the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, which draw on the extensive research capabilities of the DOE National Laboratories, universities, and industry. These projects will also address challenges identified in the Long Duration Energy Storage Pathways to Commercial Liftoff report, the Electricity Advisory Committee’s (EAC) 2022 Biennial Energy Storage Review, and the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries (FCAB) blueprint for lithium batteries. This comprehensive set of solutions requires concerted action, guided by an aggressive goal of developing and domestically manufacturing energy storage technologies that meet all U.S. market demands by 2030.
Learn more about the Office of Electricity.