Grid Storage Launchpad

OE dedicated its new Grid Storage Launchpad, a state-of-the-art 93,000 square foot facility hosted at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on Aug. 12-13. The GSL, an energy storage research and development (R&D) facility, is a critical step on the path to getting more renewable power on the system, supporting a growing fleet of electric vehicles, making the grid more reliable, and securing the clean energy future. Accelerating the development and testing of new energy storage technologies that are more cost-effective, safe, and durable is crucial to meeting the Administration’s goal of providing clean, affordable, and resilient energy to everyone, everywhere, anytime.

DOE’s Office of Electricity selected Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, as the site for a national grid energy storage research and development (R&D) facility that includes investments from the State of Washington, Battelle, and PNNL. On March 10, 2021, DOE announced the beginning of the design and construction phase of development. DOE and PNNL celebrated the groundbreaking of the facility on April 21, 2022. 

The new Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL) will help to overcome challenges in battery R&D capabilities. Through independent testing and validation, the GSL will develop rigorous grid performance standards and requirements that span the entire energy storage R&D development cycle—from basic materials synthesis to advanced prototyping. 

The GSL will focus on three outcomes to advance grid energy storage development:

• Validate: Independent testing of next-generation storage materials and systems (<100kW) under realistic grid operating conditions
• Accelerate: Reduce risk and speed development of new technologies by propagating rigorous grid performance requirements to all stages of development
• Collaborate: Link U.S. Department of Energy and storage research and development communities in a new collaboration center to solve key crosscutting challenges
• Educate: Provide standardized training and development of the next generation workforce, from skilled labor to first responders and safety officials, to utility planners and regulators

The GSL will help ensure the Department succeeds in strengthening the resilience of the grid to withstand the tests and challenges of the future, while ensuring that Americans continue to enjoy the benefits of our Nation’s energy abundance.

The GSL also supports DOE’s Energy Storage Grand Challenge, which draws on the extensive research capabilities of the DOE National Laboratories, universities, and industry to accelerate the development of energy-storage technologies and sustain American global leadership in the energy storage technologies of the future with a secure domestic manufacturing supply chain.