The Office of Electricity’s (OE) Energy Storage Division’s research and leadership drive DOE’s efforts to rapidly deploy technologies commercially and expedite grid-scale energy storage in meeting future grid demands. The Division advances research to identify safe, low-cost, and earth-abundant elements for cost-effective long-duration energy storage. OE’s development of innovative tools improves storage reliability and safety, analysis, and performance validation.
Key Programs
- Energy Storage Technology RD&D: Improving performance characteristics, characterizing novel materials, reducing costs, ensuring safety and reliability, and uncovering community benefits.
- Rapid Operational Validation Initiative (ROVI): Addressing gaps in energy storage evaluation, such as the lack of access to uniform performance data to accelerate innovation.
OE Energy Storage Facilities
- Grid Storage Launchpad: Co-locating testing of next-generation materials and 100 kWh early-stage demonstrations for emerging technologies at a world class research center.
Strategic Efforts
- Storage Innovations (SI) 2030: Analyzing potential high-impact RD&D pathways towards the Long-Duration Storage Shot.
- Long Duration Storage Shot Technology Strategy Assessments: Summarizing the impact of innovation evaluated through the SI 2030 stakeholder engagement process: SI Flight Paths and SI Framework. Read the summary report released in August 2024 here.
- SI Technology Liftoff: Accelerating partnerships and enabling pre-competitive R&D projects to benefit entire industries.
- Energy Storage Safety Strategic Plan: Highlighting safety considerations, including codes and standards, permitting, insurance, and all phases of project execution.
Cross-cutting DOE Collaborations
- Energy Storage Grand Challenge: Increasing America’s global leadership in energy storage through a DOE-wide effort led by OE and EERE to develop, commercialize, and use next-generation technologies.
- Long-Duration Storage Shot: Reducing grid-scale storage costs by 90% within the decade for systems that deliver 10+ hours through a variety efforts coordinated by the ESGC.