DOE Seeking Stakeholder Input on New Energy Storage Grand Challenge Roadmap

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) Draft Roadmap along with an accompanying Request for Information (RFI) seeking stakeholder input. The ESGC is a program that seeks to accelerate the development and commercialization od next-generation energy storage technology. Guiding the Department in this initiative is the statement, “Innovate Here, Make Here, Deploy Everywhere.” With these guiding principles, DOE plans to undertake a department-wide strategy outlined in the roadmap that will accelerate innovation in energy storage technologies.
 
According the program’s webpage, the ESGC was created with the mission of sustaining U.S. global leadership in energy storage utilization and exports, with a secure domestic manufacturing supply chain that does not depend on foreign sources of critical materials by the year 2030. The new Draft Roadmap shares five tracks to accomplish these goals:
 

1. The Technology Development Track will focus DOE’s ongoing and future energy storage R&D around user centric goals and long-term leadership.
2. The Manufacturing and Supply Chain Track will develop technologies, approaches, and strategies for U.S. manufacturing that support and strengthen U.S. leadership in innovation and continued at-scale manufacturing.
3. The Technology Transition Track will work to ensure that DOE’s R&D transitions to domestic markets through field validation, public private partnerships, bankable business model development, and the dissemination of high quality market data.
4. The Policy and Valuation Track will provide data, tools, and analysis to support policy decisions and maximize the value of energy storage.
5. The Workforce Development Track will educate the workforce, who can then research develop, design, manufacture, and operate energy storage systems.     

 
In a press release accompanying the announcement, Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said that “The Energy Storage Grand Challenge leverages the unique, extensive expertise and capabilities of the Department of Energy and our National Labs to really push the envelope when it comes to developing next-generation energy storage. Coordinating with and receiving input from our stakeholders is critical as we work to position the United States as a global leader in energy storage technologies of the future. While research and development are the foundation of advancing these technologies, the Trump Administration recognizes global leadership also requires a commitment to commercializing technologies from the lab to the marketplace.”
 
Similarly, Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes states that “The RFI and Draft Roadmap are the culmination of many months of collaboration across DOE’s program offices to address the Nation’s need for resilient, reliable, secure and transformative energy storage solutions. The Secretary launched the ESGC earlier this year highlighting the importance of manufacturing these critical technologies in the U.S. so they can be deployed by American industry at home and abroad. Increasingly energy storage is a vital component of energy and national security, and today’s announcement will garner valuable input from stakeholders and partners.”