News Archive
Sandia designs better batteries for grid-scale energy storage
Posted 08-06-21
Sandia National Laboratories researchers have designed a new kind of molten sodium battery that could prove to be a lower-temperature, lower-cost battery for grid-scale energy storage.
Read more here.
App assesses value of energy storage
Posted: 05-24-2021
A new Sandia software, called Quest, can help utility companies and corporate project developers assess how much money adding an energy storage system will save them.
The QuESt news release “Sandia app assesses value of energy storage for businesses, utilities” was published on May 19.
So far the release has been picked up by the Albuquerque Journal, KRQE (Albuquerque’s CBS affiliate), KOAT (Albuquerque’s ABC affiliate), PV Magazine, Daily Energy Insider, ScienMag, Bioengineer and more.
For 100% Renewables, DOE Speeds-up Storage Policy
Posted: 05-24-2021
A Federal energy project funded through the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity has initiated workshops designed to help state utility regulators determine best practices in policies to enable carbon-free energy storage technologies and, in particular, long duration energy storage, as renewable energy standards ramp up towards a fossil free grid.
DOE Storage Project Allows Decorah, Iowa to Add More Rooftop Solar
Posted: 08-23-2020
Alliant Energy, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Iowa Economic Development Authority are jointly supporting a battery-storage solution in Decorah, Iowa that aims to connect customer-owned solar while maintaining reliable electrical service across the community.
Modeling Goes A Long Way To Prevent Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Failure
Posted: 10-28-19
Yuliya Preger, PhD, Senior Member of Technical Staff, Energy Storage Technology & Systems at Sandia National Laboratories, whose work is centered on the safety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries for grid-level energy storage applications, recently conducted an interview with Battery Power Online. They spoke about the role of the Energy Storage Technology & Systems department at Sandia National Laboratories, how modeling helps predict and prevent LIB safety failures, and where she believes the battery safety field is headed.
EPA Green Chemistry Challenge Winners
Posted: 08-13-19
Prof. Sanjoy Banerjee of City College of New York and City University of New York Energy Institute, Sandia National Laboratories, Urban Electric Power, Inc., Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Department of Energy Office of Electricity, Energy Storage Research Program won the 2019 US Environmental Protection Agency Green Chemistry Challenge Award in the Academic category. The team was recognized for creating large-scale zinc-manganese oxide batteries that can be recharged thousands of times without the typical decrease in the length of the battery’s life-time. These batteries do not have some of the limitations of lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, and they use materials that are abundant and common in existing supply chains. Sandians Tim Lambert, Mathew Lim, Igor Kolesnichenko, and Babu Chalamala, along with Prof. Igor Vasiliev from New Mexico State University were also involved in this research project.
Cordova Electric Cuts Ribbon on New Energy Future
Posted: 06-10-19
Senator Lisa Murkowski, along with Dr. Imre Gyuk, Director of the Energy Storage Program at the Office of Electricity, Department of Energy, and members of the Sandia National Laboratories Energy Storage Systems team, were in Cordova, Alaska for the ribbon cutting of Cordova Electric Cooperative’s battery energy storage system. The goal for the Cordova Electric Cooperative is to be 90% renewable by 2025.
https://www.webcenter11.com/content/news/Cordova-cuts-ribbon-on-new-energy-future-511104161.html
Sterling Light Storage Units Mark Milestone
Posted: 04-19-19
The Sterling Municipal Light Department is marking a major milestone related to the department’s two energy storage systems. In March, SMLD celebrated over $1 million in avoided costs to the light department, thanks to the two systems.
“We would like to thank our partners who made all of this possible,” said SMLD General Manager Sean Hamilton. “They include SMLD commissioners, staff and operations crew, along with the Town of Sterling; Judith Judson from Mass. Department of Energy Resources; Dr. Imre Gyuk of the U.S. Department of Energy; Daniel Borneo and Dr. Raymond Byrne of Sandia National Laboratories; Todd Olinsky-Paul of CEG and CESA; MMWEC; Scott Reynolds, of Reynold’s Engineering LLC ; Mike Barrett of PLM; Josh Teigiser of Origis Energy; Sachin Patel of Last Mile Energy, Arlen Orchard and SMUD for project technical information, and Jared Carpenter and Jim Frawley for grant technical information.”
https://www.telegram.com/item/20190419/sterling-light-storage-units-mark-milestone
Babu Chalamala provides energy storage testimony in Sacramento
Posted: 02-12-19
Babu Chalamala, manager of Sandia’s Energy Storage Technology and Systems Department, provided testimony at the State Capitol in Sacramento, on Feb. 13, at a State Assembly briefing on Zero-Carbon Grid by 2045.
The well-attended briefing, hosted by a former LLNL scientist and current Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), sought to explore the challenges California must address as it moves towards its zero-carbon electricity grid and 100 percent renewable generation goals by 2045.
Babu was asked to provide an overview of current and future energy storage technologies that will be necessary to accommodate the influx of intermittent renewable generation into the grid, as well as the role of bulk storage and distributed storage. Other panels and speakers included executives from the California Energy Commission, California Public Utilities Commission, California Independent System Operator, SoCal Edison and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
Sandians Publish articles in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society
Posted: 12-14-18
Sandia National Laboratories has improved the predictability of lithium-ion battery safety through understanding the common aspects of thermal safety over a diverse range of safety-related measurements. A series of two open-access articles in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society describe recent work funded by the Office of Electricity Energy Storage Program.A model is developed that provides improved predictions based on a diverse range of safety-related measurements available in the literature including a change in the heat-release behavior responsible for more rapid heating at higher temperatures. This accelerated heat release at higher temperatures must be considered for thermal runaway models to yield meaningful predictions of cascading failure scenarios, which are of concern for grid-storage applications as well as for backup power applications and also electric vehicles. The enhanced model yields excellent predictions of laboratory-scale calorimetry measurements from many researchers published over two decades, encompassing graphite samples with material properties spanning the range utilized as negative electrodes in commercial lithium-ion cells.
Full length papers at: http://jes.ecsdl.org/content/165/16/A3878.full.pdf+html; http://jes.ecsdl.org/content/165/16/A3891.full.pdf+html
Our Resilient Energy Future
Posted: 10-24-18
On October 24, 2018, the Hon. Bruce Walker, from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity, came to Sandia to discuss his department’s mission and goals. Mr. Walker discussed the Office’s role in meeting the Nation’s growing demand for reliable electricity by overcoming the challenges of an aging electric grid and addressing supply chain vulnerabilities. Watch the video.
EPB Energizes Flow Battery in Support of National Grid Modernization Efforts
Grid-Scale Vanadium Flow Energy Storage System to be Installed at NELHA
Posted: 06-26-17
The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority (NELHA) in partnership with Hawai‘i Electric Light Company (HELCO), the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity (DOE-OE), the Ulupono Initiative, and UniEnergy Technologies (UET) have announced their intent to install a 100kW/500kWh advanced vanadium energy storage system (ESS) later this year at the Hawai‘i Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST Park) administered by NELHA. Read more.
Redox Battery receives Green Chemistry Challenge Award
Posted: 06-21-17
On June 12, 2017 UniEnergy Technology (UET) and Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNNL) jointly received the prestigious EPA / American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Challenge Award. The achievement being recognized is the development and commercialization of an advanced Vanadium flow battery. Using an ingenious mixed acid electrolyte, research at PNNL, funded by DOE’s Office of Electricity, over a five year period succeeded in cutting the cost of the storage system in half, doubling the temperature window, and roughly doubling the energy density. UET licensed the technology, perfected the manufacturing process, found financial partners and has started to commercialize the system. As a flow battery the UniEnergy battery separates power and energy. Power is produced in a reversible fuel cell and the energy resides in the vanadium electrolyte stored in large tanks. As a result the company was able to produce a long duration, four hour battery with long life time and little degradation. More than 100 megawatt hours of UET systems are deployed, ordered, or awarded.
The ceremony took place at Washington’s National Academy. The Green Awards Program recognizes individuals and organizations on a national level for successfully researching, developing, and implementing outstanding green chemical technologies. Five awards were presented at the event. Dr. Imre Gyuk, director of OE’s Energy Storage Program, joined the UET/PNNL team on stage during the award presentation.
The Sandia National Laboratories storage program is involved in several field validation projects using the technology. A blog providing further details on the award is available on the DOE-OE web site: https://energy.gov/oe/articles/unienergy-technologies-and-pnnl-recognized-advancing-energy-storage-national-level.
Sandia-Developed Precision High Power Battery Tester Earns R&D 100 Award
Posted: 01-23-17
R&D Magazine has recognized Sandia National Laboratories researchers’ work in developing innovative battery testing with the annual R&D 100 Award.
As principle investigator of the Precision High Power Battery Tester, Dr. Summer Ferreira was presented with the R&D 100 Green Tech Special Recognition Award.
The PHPBT uses high-precision charge/discharge test measurements at up to 200A current to capture electrochemical measurements such as coulombic efficiency with greater accuracy than was previously possible at currents applicable to EV and stationary storage applications. The goal is to detect minute signs of battery degradation earlier than previous testing, providing insight into a battery’s long-term capabilities and enabling engineers to better select feasible technologies from those needing more development.
With support from the Dept. of Energy’s Office of Electricity (DOE OE) and ARPA-e, PHPBT research was done in conjunction with Arbin Instruments, Ford Motor Company, and Montana Tech. Arbin has since commercialized the PHPBT technology.
R&D Magazine presents the annual R&D 100 awards to honor the year’s 100-most innovative technologies as selected by an independent panel of more than 70 judges.
2016 NAATBatt Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service to Dr. Imre Gyuk
Posted: 02-23-16
The NAATBatt International Board of Directors will present the 2016 NAATBatt Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service to Dr. Imre Gyuk, Energy Storage Program Manager of the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Electricity (DOE OE) Delivery and Energy Reliability, and Prof. Detchko Pavlov at the NAATBatt 2016 Annual Meeting & Conference’s Gala Dinner March 2, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells at Palm Springs, California.
According to the NAATBatt’s announcement of the awards, Dr. Gyuk has been central to the advancing energy storage during the past 13 years. Under Dr. Gyuk’s leadership, the Electrical Energy Storage research program within the DOE’s Office of Electricity identified and funded dozens of new stationary energy storage technologies, several of which are used today in unsubsidized, commercial projects, producing significant benefits for the electricity grid and for electricity consumers. “Without Dr. Gyuk’s leadership and the seed funding of new technologies that he oversaw and directed, it is difficult to imagine that the energy storage market we know today would look anything like it does or, perhaps, would exist at all. Dr. Gyuk and his programs epitomize the essential role of government in supporting the transition of important, new technologies from the laboratory to commercial viability in the marketplace. Dr. Imre Gyuk is the winner of the NAATBatt 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award-Public Service.”
Also receiving a NAATBatt Lifetime Achievement Award will be Prof. Detchko Pavlov of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems, for his contributions to the processes in lead-acid battery manufacture and operation, and the oxygen cycle reactions in valve-regulated lead-acid batteries.
Read the NAATBatt award announcement for more information on the Lifetime Achievement Awards and the recipients.
Sandia ESS Program and Oregon Energy Dept. Announce Demonstration Project Funding Opportunity
Posted: 09-08-15
The Oregon Dept. of Energy is partnering with the U.S. DOE Office of Electricity’s Energy Storage Program, and Sandia National Laboratories, to offer funds for an energy storage demonstration project in Oregon. Up to $250,000 in federal funds will be matched by up to $45,000 in state funds from ODOE and Oregon BEST.
The deadline for submitting proposals is Oct. 16, and the award is expected to be announced Nov. 2.
The demonstration aims to enable installation and continuous operation of an electrical energy storage system, or ESS, with a capacity of 500kW/500kWh or greater, connected to the transmission or distribution system. No preference is given to one energy storage technology over others; however, preference will be given to projects that demonstrate two or more of the following five high-interest applications, or “use cases:”
- T&D upgrade deferral/management of peak demand
- Service reliability/resiliency
- Power quality/voltage support
- Grid regulation
- Renewable energy firming, ramp control, energy shift
Proposals are encouraged from utilities, energy storage technology vendors, energy service suppliers and electric customers including, but not limited to, municipalities, universities, and commercial and industrial businesses. Applicants that are not electric utilities must have a committed utility partner or include a letter of support from the interconnecting utility. A minimum cost share of 50 percent is required. ODOE prefers projects that can be interconnected to the electric transmission or distribution system within 18 months of the award and the project must operate for a minimum of one full year.
More information is available from ODOE at http://www.oregon.gov/energy/Pages/energy-storage.aspx#Energy_Storage_RFP_Updates.
Testing Opens for Third-Party Validation of Energy Storage Technologies for Stationary Storage Applications
Posted: 03-12-15
Sandia National Laboratories has released a Request for Proposals for third-party testing of stationary energy storage applications. The deadline for application is April 3, 2015.
Manufacturers, integrators and consumers of stationary energy storage are encouraged to apply for third-party testing of storage solutions.
Sandia will determine the appropriate scale of the validation activity and the test plan to be followed, and will carry out in-house evaluation and public reporting of the results from such testing. The industrial partner will be expected to provide batteries for testing and to participate in project discussions and data review efforts.
Additional information is available at the Federal Business Opportunities website.
Sandia’s Energy Storage Analysis Laboratory Team to Speak at Next Generation Batteries Conference
Posted: 02-23-15
Dr. Summer Ferreira, principal investigator of Sandia National Laboratories’ Energy Storage Analysis Laboratory (ESAL), will speak at the Grid-Scale Energy Storage and Lithium Battery Safety tracks of the Knowledge Foundation’s Next Generation Batteries 2015 Conference, April 21-22 in San Diego, CA.
In her talk titled “Viability of Employing Storage Device for Multiple Uses Simultaneously,” Dr. Ferreira will discuss the results of lithium-ion batteries tested under stacked cycling profiles.
The conference’s “Lithium Battery Safety” track presents innovations and technologies that improve safety, reliability, and degradation management of lithium batteries.
Dr. Ferreira discusses her presentation in a podcast that is available as downloads in both audio and transcript forms. Also, more information about the conference is available at the Knowledge Foundation’s Next Generation Batteries 2015 conference website.
DOE OE Energy Storage Safety Strategic Plan Released
Posted: 12-10-14
The Dept. of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Energy Storage Program has announced their release of the Energy Storage Safety Strategic Plan (PDF, 685 kb) to standardize the validation of the safety of grid-scale electrical energy storage projects.
The Strategic Plan addresses the key area of validated energy storage safety, spanning grid-scale, utility, communal, and residential deployments for the increasing array of energy storage technologies. It highlights the key areas of validation techniques, incident preparedness, and safety documentation, and recommends near- and long-term actions to address these needs.
Dr. Imre Gyuk, director of DOE OE and Energy Reliability Energy Storage Program, says, “We want energy storage to reach full acceptance as a component of the electric grid. For this to happen, a number of things must occur: technical feasibility of our technologies, competitive costs and established value, a regulatory framework, and safety. If we don’t have validated safety, we don’t have a product.”
Energy Storage Test Pad Characterizes TransPower’s GridSaver
Posted: 11-03-14
Sandia National Laboratories has begun characterizing the capacity, power, safety and reliability of TransPower’s GridSaver, a 1 megawatt, lithium-ion grid energy storage system, at Sandia’s Energy Storage Test Pad.
Project lead David Rosewater said, “Independent evaluations provide valuable feedback for industry efforts to standardize metrics for characterizing and reporting reliability, safety and performance. Companies need the standards to develop large procurement goals for grid energy storage because they must be able to compare performance and cost.”
Sandia’s Energy Storage Test Pad and Energy Storage Analysis Laboratory test facilities validate manufacturers’ specifications of energy storage devices through characterization and application-specific cycle testing. They also can help users evaluate system parameters, including storage device efficiency, performance to specifications, reliability and balance of plant operation.
A Sandia Labs News Release provides more information on the TransPower GridSaver characterization testing.
NAATBatt / DOE Webinar: DOE Loan Guarantees for Storage Projects
Posted: 07-02-14
The National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries (NAATBatt) will jointly host a webinar 1-2:30 p.m. (CDT) Wednesday, July 16, with the U.S. Dept. of Energy – Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability entitled “DOE Loan Guarantees for Storage Projects: The Essential Details.”
Douglas Schultz, director of Loan Guarantee Origination for the DOE’s Loan Programs Office, will explain the details of the new Section 1703 loan guarantee program. Mr. Schultz will answer questions posed by three experts in government-supported project finance: Alexander Drake of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Kenneth Hansen of Chadbourne & Parke and David Kirkpatrick of Marathon Capital.
The webinar is free, but registration is required at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5534765971767783426. After registering, a confirmation e-mail will be sent containing information about joining the webinar.
The webinar will be co-hosted by James Greenberger, executive director of NAATBatt, and Dr. Imre Gyuk of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability.
Draft Storage/Stationary Battery Standards List Is Available from UL
Posted: 04-03-14
A draft listing of Storage/Stationary Batteries Standards is now available for download from the Publications page of this website. The list is courtesy of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL).
In addition to summarizing the scope of each standard, the listing identifies whether the standards pertain to Safety, Performance or other purpose, as well as providing some cross-referencing to related standards.
Sandia researcher authors ‘Battery Energy Storage System’ for Springer-Verlag London
Posted: 09-12-13
Sandia National Laboratories researcher Stan Atcitty recently coauthored a chapter titled “Battery Energy Storage System” in Power Electronics for Renewable and Distributed Energy Systems, a volume published last July by Springer-Verlag London. This chapter discusses the various technical components of battery energy storage systems for utility-scale energy storage and how these technical components are interrelated. Atcitty’s coauthors were Jason Neely, David Ingersoll, Abbas Akhil and Karen Waldrip.
2013 Electricity Storage Handbook Released
Posted: 07-03-13
The DOE/EPRI 2013 Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA (PDF, 12 mb) has been released and is available for download. It was jointly authored by the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories, Electric Power Research Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and AECOM Technical Services, Inc.
The Electricity Storage Handbook is a how-to guide for utility and rural cooperative engineers, planners, and decision makers to plan and implement energy storage projects. The Handbook also serves as an information resource for investors and venture capitalists, providing the latest developments in technologies and tools to guide their evaluations of energy storage opportunities. It includes a comprehensive database of the cost of current storage systems in a wide variety of electric utility and customer services, along with interconnection schematics. A list of significant past and present energy storage projects is provided for a practical perspective.
NV Energy Electricity Storage Valuation Study Released
Posted: 06-28-13
Sandia National Laboratories’ Electric Power Systems Research Dept. and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Advanced Power and Energy Systems Group have released a jointly authored report that examines how grid-level electricity storage might benefit the operations of NV Energy in 2020, and assesses whether those benefits justify the cost of the storage system.
Titled “NV Energy Electricity Storage Valuation” (PDF, 933 kb), the report finds that grid-level storage adds the most value to the 2020 NV Energy system by providing regulating reserve, and that a grid-level storage facility in the 2020 NV Energy system may have a positive net present value at today’s storage system prices, provided that regulating reserve from a fast ramp rate resource is valued more than that from a slow ramp rate resource.