Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) hosted the 2024 Energy Storage Safety & Reliability Forum on May 14-16 at Discovery Hall on the PNNL campus. The event provided about 200 guests the opportunity to learn about the latest developments, share lessons learned and best practices, and discuss the ongoing challenged of ensuring energy storage systems are safe and reliable.

The three-day agenda featured engaging speakers from three continents comprised of energy storage technology developers, emergency responders, code officials, utilities, integrators, standards developers, international research institutions, and numerous experts from PNNL and Sandia National Laboratories.

In addition to the speakers, guests were treated to a full day of touring PNNL’s exceptional facilities including their Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center (EIOC), Energy Science Center, B-Reactor, and the new $75 million Grid Storage launchpad (GSL). The GSL’s goal is to accelerate the development and deployment of next generations grid storage technologies through systematic and independent validation.

See the full agenda and access the conference presentations.

Relive the highlights through the event pictures.

Questions? Contact:

Matt Paiss, Advisor, Battery Development & Reliability,
(509) 371-7770, matthew.paiss@pnnl.gov

Jaime Kolln, Senior Power Systems Engineer,
(971) 940-7108, jaime.kolln@pnnl.gov

On Thursday, May 9, 2024, Jungsang Cho, a graduate student at the City College of New York (CCNY), under the tutelage of Professor Sanjoy Banerjee, successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation titled “Understanding the Application of Hydrogel Electrolytes for Rechargeable Alkaline Zinc-Manganese Dioxide Batteries.” Cho’s thesis work was the result of a collaborative effort with Sandia National Laboratories’ Energy Storage Program, specifically a project on Advanced Zn Batteries (PI: Sandian Timothy N. Lambert). The goal of this research is to advance Zn-based batteries for grid and long duration energy storage applications.

Zinc (Zn)–manganese dioxide (MnO₂) rechargeable batteries have high specific theoretical capacity, are environmentally friendly, intrinsically safe, and low-cost. Liquid electrolytes, such as potassium hydroxide, are historically used in these batteries; however, many failure mechanisms of the Zn–MnO2 battery chemistry result from the use of liquid electrolytes, including the formation of electrochemically inert phases on the MnO2 cathodes and shape change of the Zn anode.

This thesis details the development and use of polymer gel electrolytes to mitigate many of the failure mechanisms for Zn-MnO₂. Improved Zn-MnO₂ cells are demonstrated for both the 1-electron and 2-electron regimes for MnO₂, whereby cells utilizing the gel electrolyte showed higher capacity retention compared to the tests with the liquid electrolyte. Improved cell safety was also achieved as the hydrogels are ‘non-spillable’, according to standards from the US Department of Transportation.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (OE), Energy Storage Division.

J. Cho, G.G. Yadav, M. Weiner, J. Huang, A. Upreti, X. Wei, R. Yakobov, B. Hawkins, M. Nyce, T.N. Lambert, D.J. Arnot, N.S. Bell, N.B. Schorr, D. Turney, G. Cowles, S. Banerjee “Hydroxyl Conducting Hydrogels Enable Low-Maintenance Commercially Sized Rechargeable Zn-MnO₂ Batteries for Use in Solar Microgrids” Polymer 2022, 14 (3), 417. DOI: 10.3390/polym140304417.

J. Cho, D.E. Turney, G.G. Yadav, M. Nyce, B.R. Waygant, T.N. Lambert, S. Banerjee “Use of Hydrogel Electrolyte in Zn-MnO₂ Rechargeable Batteries: Characterization of Safety, Performance, and Cu²⁺ Ion Diffusion” Polymer 2024, 16(5), 658, https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16050658.

G. G. Yadav, M. Sammy, J. Cho, M. Booth, M. Nyce, J. Huang, T. N. Lambert, D. Turney, X. Wei, S. Banerjee “A Report on the Performance of Low Cost and Highly Energy Dense Hybrid Zinc|Manganese Dioxide-Copper Scaled-Cells” Batteries 2024 manuscript under review.

As batteries have fallen in cost they are more commonly installed in cars, homes, business, and utility applications by a new workforce of battery technicians. This new workforce needs specific guidance for how to safely assemble, maintain, repair, and disassemble battery systems. As part of his efforts to modernize battery worker safety standards, David Rosewater, grid energy storage researcher at the Sandia National Laboratories, was an invited speaker for the DOE’s Worker Safety and Health Policy Webex Series on May 8, 2024. His recently published paper, “Reducing Risk When Performing Energized Work on Batteries,” codifies best practices in battery hazard analysis and work planning controls. The Worker Safety and Health Policy Webex webinar had over two hundred attendees and served to spread analysis methods and work procedures that will prevent accidents and keep workers safe.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (OE), Energy Storage Division.

D. M. Rosewater, “Reducing Risk When Performing Energized Work on Batteries,” in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 2732-2741, March-April 2024, DOI: 10.1109/TIA.2023.3332828.

Will McNamara, Energy Storage Policy Analyst at Sandia National laboratories, delivered a presentation on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at the City of Pasadena (California) District 6 Town Hall meeting to help the city achieve its goal of becoming carbon-free by 2030. Will was introduced by the City’s Vice Mayor Steve Madison and spoke about the role that energy storage plays in decarbonization, particularly the need for long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies as penetration levels of renewable energy significantly increase. Will provided information about national trends on decarbonization, opportunities for clean energy funding sources through the Department of Energy, and how Sandia provides support for demonstration programs.

Prior to the Town Hall presentation, Will met with the Acting General Manager of Pasadena Water & Power (PWP), which expressed interest in developing an LDES technology pilot project with Sandia’s support. The District 6 Town Hall was a public forum held by the City of Pasadena to educate the public about the city’s decarbonization goals and address public questions and concerns about this initiative.

Will’s presentation was based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (OE), Energy Storage Division.

Amalie Frischknecht and Mark Stevens at Sandia developed new parameters to use in molecular dynamics simulations of zincate ions in aqueous potassium hydroxide solutions. The results were published in an article titled “Force Fields for High Concentration Aqueous KOH Solutions and Zincate Ions,” published March 28, 2024, in the American Chemical Society (ACS) Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

Many renewable energy technologies rely on aqueous alkaline electrolytes such as potassium hydroxide (KOH), including fuel cells, electrolyzers, and rechargeable zinc-based batteries. In the case of zinc batteries, zincate ions are also present in the electrolyte and cause problems if they cross the separator from one side of the battery to the other. Molecular simulations are a promising method to understand the details of ion and gas transport through these batteries, but to perform such simulations one first must know the interactions among all the species present, the so-called force field.

In this paper, the authors developed parameters for use in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that are validated against experimental measurements of density and viscosity. This paper presents the first force field parameters for zincate available in the literature. These new force field parameters will enable future simulations of KOH-based electrolytes and dissolved zincate ions. This will be particularly helpful in understanding how polymer membranes can help to block the undesirable transport of zincate ions across zinc-based batteries while still allowing the high conductivity of hydroxide ions through the membrane needed for good device performance.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Journal of Physical Chemistry B is a high-quality journal publishing fundamental results in physical chemistry, with an impact factor of 3.3.

Amalie Frischknecht and Mark Stevens are both staff scientists at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Sandia National Laboratories. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (OE), Energy Storage Division.

Amalie L. Frischknecht and Mark J. Stevens, “Force Fields for High Concentration Aqueous KOH Solutions and Zincate Ions,” J. Phys. Chem. B 2024, 128, 14, 3475-3484, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c08302.

Sandia National Laboratories Energy Storage program team members participated as co-instructors on the “How Grid Energy Storage Meets the Challenges of a Decarbonized Future” tutorial at the 2024 IEEE PES T&D Conference May 6-9, 2024, in Anaheim, CA. This tutorial was organized and led by the IEEE Energy Storage and Stationary Battery (ESSB) technical committee. The Sandia representatives and subject matter experts covering these topics were Babu Chalamala, Ray Byrne, Tu Nguyen, Mike Ropp, Charlie Vartanian, and Chris Searles. Sandia also partnered with Rick Fioravanti from Quanta Technology for this tutorial.

This four-hour tutorial was divided into four sections:

1. A review of current technologies targeted for this area (e.g., lithium ion, pumped hydro, flow batteries, and long duration energy storage).
2. Market application challenges and valuations with a focus on the duration needed in a decarbonized scenario and market products that may be required to ensure deployment.
3. Engineering of energy storage systems, code compliance, and interconnection – including electrification technologies.
4. System safety and reliability.

In supporting IEEE ESSB, Sandia staff leverages and promotes ES R&D learning and resources. The IEEE is also a productive community for technical information-exchange, and socializing broader DOE initiatives including the LDES Storage Shot.

Sandia National Laboratories Energy Storage program team member Charlie Vartanian participated in IEEE SusTech Initiative’s Energy and Climate Technologies for the Arctic Workshop held May 3-4, 2024, at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. This was the fourth in a series of open workshops held by the IEEE SusTech Initiative. At the workshop, Charlie Vartanian spoke on “Technologies for Diesel Use Reduction in Non-Grid-Connected Communities.” This presentation featured the Cordova Electric Cooperative’s BESS’s success reducing utility diesel fuel use. Sandia previously assisted CEC in the successful planning and deployment of their 1MW BESS.

The presentation also included content prepared by Michael Ropp from Sandia. Mike’s content in the presentation summarized the IEEE 1547 Interconnection Standard. The Energy and Climate Technologies for the Arctic Workshop provided a useful audience and community to share Sandia energy storage R&D program resources and insights on storage applications that improve environmental outcomes including reduced fossil fuel use to serve electric utility customers’ load.

The IEEE SusTech Initiative seeks to contribute technical expertise and solutions to address sustainability challenges, including climate change. The Initiative offers workshops in various formats free of charge throughout the year.

Read more in the BESS Application in a Microgrid – Cordova Electric Cooperative PPT.

Questions: Contact Charlie Vartanian at charlie.vartanian@ieee.org.

Will McNamara from Sandia National Laboratories gave two presentations at the EUCI Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) Best Practices Summit held virtually May 1-2, 2024, hosted by Burbank Department of Light & Power. McNamara, the Sandia Energy Storage Policy Analyst, presented and led discussion on “Parsing Which Long Duration Technologies Will Prevail” and “Assessing the Impacts on IRP of the Inflation Reduction Act.”

His Long Duration presentation explored what LDES technologies are gaining momentum on the path to commercialization and how focused efforts across the industry are aligning to address the array of market challenges that persist. While the Inflation Reduction Act presentation provided an overview of the IRA incentives and expected power market impacts on IRP best practices.

This Summit explored the new IRP paradigm and provided a critical platform to leading utility, power resource planning professionals and related industry experts as they addressed the key elements associated with emerging operational issues. The conference blended presentations from utilities, state regulatory staff/commissioners, non-utility SMEs, service providers and other resource planners.

The event also provided a conduit for McNamara to highlight Sandia’s energy storage R&D Program resources, insights on long duration energy storage, and promote DOE’s Energy Storage Grand Challenge.

Download the EUCI Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) Best Practices Summit brochure.

Questions: Contact Will McNamara at jwmcnam@sandia.gov.

Sandia National Laboratories Energy Storage program team member Charlie Vartanian participated in the EUCI course “Energy Storge System Commissioning” held virtually April 17-18, 2024. Charlie was the lead instructor for “Installation Codes, Standards, and Regulations (CSRs) Applicable to Energy Storage System (ESS) Commissioning”. The Sandia-supported course module included content prepared by Michael Ropp (Sandia ESS Interconnection), Waylon Clark Sandia (Sandia ESS Demonstration Projects and Commissioning), and Chris Searles (Sandia ES Safety Codes and Standards).

The ESS Commissioning course provided the audience of ESS owner/operators (and all other parties involved in the commissioning effort) an excellent foundation of:

• ESS pre-commissioning requirements
• ESS commissioning stakeholders and their involvement
• ESS commissioning project plan elements and their sequence
• ESS commissioning tests
• ESS deployment and commencement of operations
• ESS recommissioning and decommissioning

EUCI provided an extremely interested and engaged audience for the Sandia Energy Storage program to deliver its R&D program resources and insights related to ESS standards and their application. Participation in this course also supported a broader Sandia and DOE OE goal to lower barriers to ESS adoption by filling gaps in ESS Standards.

Learn more about the course here.

Questions: Contact Charlie Vartanian at charlie.vartanian@ieee.org.