Energy Storage

DOE announces $125 million for energy storage research

Emerging storage technologies will require a better understanding of foundational battery and materials sciences.
DOE announces $125 million for energy storage research
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing $125 million for two Energy Innovation Hub teams aimed at accelerating next generation energy storage technologies beyond lithium-ion batteries.

Emerging applications will require greater energy storage capabilities, safer operation, lower costs and diversity of materials to manufacture batteries, DOE said. But meeting these challenges requires a better understanding of foundational battery and materials sciences. That’s where the two research teams, to be led by Argonne National Laboratory and Stanford University, come in.

Additional benefits from the research effort could include mitigation of supply chain risks associated with the current generation of batteries.

The Argonne-led Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA) will focus on achieving unprecedented molecular-level control of chemical reactivity, ion selectivity and directional transport in complex electrochemical cells.

The Stanford-led Aqueous Battery Consortium (ABC) will focus on establishing the scientific foundation for large-scale development and deployment of aqueous batteries for long-duration grid storage technologies.  Both teams will prioritize study and use of Earth-abundant materials to mitigate supply chain risks.

The teams were selected by competitive peer review under the DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Energy Innovation Hub Program: Research to Enable Next-Generation Batteries and Energy Storage. While focused on basic science, the announcement was developed in coordination through the DOE Joint Strategy Team for Batteries.

The total funding is $125 million for awards lasting up to five years in duration.

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