Energy Department Awards $19 Million for Long-Duration Energy Storage in Remote Communities and Military Housing

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity has selected two companies to receive $19 million in awards to demonstrate long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects in remote communities and military housing. The companies will receive funding to show how energy storage can lower electricity bills and increase power reliability in Vermont and Kansas. This marks the first projects to be funded under the new energy storage demonstration programs enacted as part of the 2020 Energy Act. 

Sandia Scientist Stan Atcitty Recognized in Partnership with Tribal Colleges and Universities

Dr. Stan Atcitty was featured in the Winds of Change magazine, published by American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). AISES is a national nonprofit organization focused on increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers. Stan was recognized for his work securing funding for and helping maintain a partnership with Navajo Technical University and other tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). Read more in the Summer 2023 Winds of Change.

U.S. Department of Energy to ‘Supercharge’ Energy Storage through $30 Million in Awards and Opportunities 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) announces more than $30 million in awards and funding opportunities at the Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) Summit in Atlanta.

Department of Energy Releases Several Reports Supporting Long Duration Energy Storage

Department of Energy Office of Electricity (DOE OE) has published a series of reports supporting their Long Duration Storage Shot, which aims to develop specific and quantifiable RD&D pathways to reduce the cost of grid-scale energy storage by 90% for systems that deliver 10+ hours of duration by 2030. DOE recently published eleven technical reports summarizing and analyzing explore the promising RD&D pathways to substantially lower the costs of long-duration energy storage.

Long-Duration Energy Storage: The Time Is Now

How can US states with aggressive decarbonization goals coupled with federal decarbonization goals have energy when they need it? Long-duration energy storage (LDES) is a likely candidate. LDES systems are large energy storage installations that can store renewable energy until needed and can provide a much-needed solution for a reliable and decarbonized grid. But planning needs to start now, according to new research from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Energy Department Selects Six National Laboratories to Validate Battery Energy Storage Performance

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Electricity (OE) announced a team of six DOE national laboratories to receive a total of $2 million to carry out the Rapid Operational Validation Initiative (ROVI). ROVI will validate the testing of new energy storage systems.

DOE Announces Energy Storage Innovations Prize Winners

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) today announced the ten winners of the inaugural American-Made Energy Storage Innovations Prize. The American-Made Challenge calls for solutions to grid-scale energy storage, focusing on nascent and emerging technologies that disrupt or advance current state-of-the-art energy storage research areas. As part of DOE’s Storage Innovations 2030 Initiative, this prize is helping industry develop new technologies that have greatest potential to meet grid reliability, equity, and decarbonization goals.  

U.S. Department of Energy Opportunity: Rapid Operational Validation Initiative for Flow Batteries

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing a lab call to develop the Rapid Operational Validation Initiative (ROVI), which will address critical gaps in data needs to evaluate energy storage, such as the lack of access to large and uniform sets of performance data that are necessary to accelerate the pace at which technology development can occur.

Energy Storage Module Added to Lab Partnering Service Online Portal

Managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions, the Lab Partnering Service (LPS) offers access to the world’s most advanced scientific facilities and researchers across the Department’s national lab complex. LPS provides investors—and other parties looking to advance energy innovation—a single online platform to connect with leading DOE national laboratory technical experts to quickly answer innovation questions, as well as discover opportunities for building partnerships and taking research or product advancements to the next level.

R&D 100 Winner 2022: Iron Nitride Soft Magnetics

Iron nitride (Fe4N), a new soft magnetic material, is a high-magnetization and high-resistivity soft magnetic alloy. Fe4N soft magnetic components can reduce next-generation smart grid power electronics system size and weight by up to an order of magnitude over existing state-of-the-art soft magnetic materials, while also realizing increases in efficiency. The revolutionary performance advantages of Fe4N soft magnetics are expected to spur key innovations in utility-scale and transportation-based power electronics hardware and to increase the accessibility and use of distributed energy resources such as grid energy storage and carbon-free mobility. This leading-edge material is the world’s first commercially available iron nitride soft magnetic component, and it is ready for manufacturing now.

  • Developer: Sandia National Laboratories
  • Co-Developer: University of California, Irvine, United States

Read more about Sandia’s five R&D 100 awards winners and a silver specialty award.