“WOW!! It is actually happening!”
Newswise — This was the exuberant title of Denise Gray’s opening keynote address at the 5th Battery and Energy Storage Conference. Gray has had a distinguished career in energy storage and electric vehicles (EVs) at organizations such as LG and General Motors. Drawing from that experience, she spoke about how storage has reached a point of realization. Demand for EVs is booming, vehicle manufacturers are committing to EV production and global battery companies are investing in U.S. manufacturing facilities.
Even with the remarkable progress, Gray advised conference attendees not to rest on the current state. The next phase is beginning, and there will be plenty of work to address future roadblocks.
“While many energy conferences cover one piece of the picture — like transportation or the grid — we wanted to have a bigger conversation. What has the nation’s industrial policy enabled to date? How are we going to build on that progress? What technology innovations and market drivers are needed?” — Venkat Srinivasan, director of ACCESS
Gray’s celebration of storage’s progress was a perfect frame for the conference. The event was organized by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne viewed the conference as a timely opportunity to take stock of how far storage has come and assess the path forward.
Powered by the federal Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the United States has successfully embarked on an industrial policy for storage. Storage technologies are viewed as key to enabling the nation’s ambitious clean energy goals. These goals include 50% carbon emission reductions by 2030, a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a decarbonized economy by 2050. To help achieve the goals, DOE has built a strong foundation for storage through support of industry activities in transportation, the grid and supply chains.
Argonne convened a diverse mix of energy storage leaders from academia, national laboratories, industry and DOE. Its aim was to provide a comprehensive view of storage. Conference sessions spanned transportation electrification, grid-scale energy storage, manufacturing and recycling. A “Future of Energy” session delved into the nation’s strategy for a carbon-free future. Sixty of the 180 attendees took a tour of Argonne’s facilities.
“While many energy conferences cover one piece of the picture — like transportation or the grid — we wanted to have a bigger conversation,” said Venkat Srinivasan, Director of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS) and conference chair. “What has the nation’s industrial policy enabled to date? How are we going to build on that progress? What technology innovations and market drivers are needed?”
Technology is advancing faster than expected
Talks during the transportation electrification session covered the remarkable progress in advanced battery technologies such as lithium metal, lithium-sulfur and solid-state. In the keynote address, University of Waterloo battery researcher Linda Nazar presented the strong performance of magnesium-ion technologies in the latest studies at the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) — the recently sunsetted DOE Energy Innovation Hub headquartered at Argonne. Just three years ago, magnesium-ion was considered a long shot.
“The pace of advances in multiple technologies suggests that batteries may improve faster — and help decarbonize more transportation sectors — than anybody expected,” said Srinivasan.
Aligning chemistries with markets
Yet-Ming Chiang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology materials science professor and keynote speaker for the grid storage session, described how fundamental laboratory research at JCESR led to the creation of Form Energy, a successful grid storage company. He pointed to the importance of adapting battery chemistries to meet specific market needs. Subsequent talks by several grid storage companies also explored how to best move from lab to market.
“A big takeaway from this session is that we need to be thinking about markets even in the early days of science,” said Srinivasan. “To rapidly decarbonize the grid, storage companies, researchers, and other stakeholders need to collaborate. The grid will probably end up using different technologies for different end uses, and this session gave us a snapshot of the status of the technologies at play.”
A holistic, dynamic storage roadmap
The “Future of Energy” session provided a rare comprehensive view of the nation’s industrial policy for storage along with DOE’s multifaceted battery-related activities. Michael Berube, deputy assistant secretary for Sustainable Transportation and Fuels in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, focused on transportation decarbonization. Eric Hsieh, deputy assistant secretary for Energy Storage in DOE’s Office of Electricity, covered grid storage. Dave Howell, principal deputy director of DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, delved into supply chains.
“This session illustrated DOE’s success in implementing a holistic storage plan,” said Srinivasan. “The plan leverages synergies between different markets and different points along the supply chain — from upstream minerals extraction all the way to end-of-life. DOE periodically revisits and adjusts the plan based on evolving technology, markets and supply chains.”
Inspiring the next generation
The conference played an important role in inspiring the next generation of storage experts. By experiencing a broad view of storage, younger attendees learned where they can best use their skills to have the biggest impact — whether it be in grid storage, recycling or aviation. The promise of the next generation was on full display in the conference poster session, where students, postdoctoral appointees and early-career researchers presented posters on their storage research.
“A lot of young people came up to me and said they appreciated the opportunity to hear the full breadth of activities in storage, the status of different technologies and the overall decarbonization strategy,” said Srinivasan. “It was eye-opening for them.”
Battery research at Argonne is supported by a wide range of sponsors. These include DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, DOE’s Office of Electricity, and the Vehicle Technologies Office and Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
RSS