The consortium’s inaugural annual workshop was held on September 10th and 11th and was a huge success.
Office of Technology Transitions
October 1, 2024
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The Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) National Consortium provides a forum for stakeholders in the LDES industry to collaborate on identifying challenges and developing solutions that can be immediately adopted by this emerging industry. The LDES National Consortium is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), led by National Laboratories, and driven by industry and community stakeholders. Formed in 2023, the LDES National Consortium has already made remarkable progress towards its goals—including growing its membership, establishing subject-area-specific Tiger Teams, holding regular meetings, organizing a repository of knowledge relevant to the LDES space, and now, hosting its first annual workshop and publishing the first set of recommendations.
The consortium’s inaugural annual workshop was held on September 10th and 11th at the Electrical Training Institute in Commerce, California. The two-day event brought together almost 200 key industry stakeholders, federal and local government representatives, technology developers, community organizers, utilities and public utility commissioners, financiers, and researchers from National Labs—all with the shared goal of accelerating the commercialization of LDES solutions.
Why LDES Matters
The increasing use of variable renewable energy (VRE) resources, such as wind and solar, is a critical part of reaching decarbonization targets in the US—but the intermittency of VREs can also put new strain on the electrical grid. To counteract irregular power generation and provide grid resiliency, there will be an increasing need for LDES technologies.
“LDES technologies are a critical solution to the clean energy transition,” said DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of OTT, Dr. Vanessa Z. Chan. “It’s inspiring to see the LDES National Consortium utilizing DOE funding to establish actionable best practices across the industry.”
In his opening remarks, Dr. Emanuele Francesco Pecora added that “OCED’s mission is to accelerate deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system. The work of this consortium is critical to remove adoption challenges and ensure liftoff of the LDES technologies we are demonstrating for the first time at scale.”
The LDES National Consortium is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). It is administered by the Office of Technology Transitions in collaboration with the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. Six National Labs, led by Sandia National Laboratories, are collaborating on facilitating the consortium efforts.
Event Highlights
Consortium members explored challenges and opportunities for LDES technologies. Keynote speakers emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships to accelerate growth in this space, while presentations, panel discussions, and breakout sessions took a deeper dive into a number of key adoption challenges such as regulatory hurdles, securing private funding, and integrating LDES systems into the grid. Each “Tiger Team” – 16 working groups focused on specific topic areas—hosted specific sessions. Through a series of quick pitches from LDES developers, the event also highlighted the great diversity of technologies (including mechanical, thermal, and electrochemical systems) that could provide long duration energy storage. Attendees were also invited to tour the Electrical Training Institute.
As long duration energy storage becomes increasingly vital for meeting clean energy goals, this workshop emphasized collaboration across sectors to tackle deployment challenges and position the U.S. as a global leader in the LDES market. The event also included a number of networking opportunities to foster connections and strengthen partnerships between attendees. Overall, this groundbreaking workshop set the stage for ongoing efforts in the LDES space, reinforcing the consortium’s dedication to driving forward innovative, long-lasting solutions.
Industry Recommendation Publication
On the second day of the workshop, the consortium published its first set of Industry Recommendations to address challenges referenced in the DOE LDES Pathways to Commercialization Liftoff report. This marks the first in a series of recommendations that the consortium plans to release, all aimed at tackling key commercialization barriers for LDES technologies.
The recommendations provide a path forward for 11 challenges identified from the DOE Pathways to Commercialization Liftoff report. For each of the 11 challenges, the consortium outlines a clear action statement and entity to which the recommendation can be submitted for implementation. This strategic approach aims to drive forward progress on LDES commercialization and ultimately support the national transition to a clean energy future.
Looking Ahead
This inaugural workshop set the foundation for continued efforts in advancing long duration energy storage. By fostering collaboration and publishing these critical recommendations, the LDES National Consortium is positioning itself as a pivotal force in addressing adoption barriers for innovative long duration energy storage solutions that will support the nation’s clean energy and grid resiliency goals.
For more information about the LDES National Consortium and their ongoing efforts, visit their website. Anyone with an interest in LDES is also invited to join the Consortium here.