ETA 2021 Strategic Plan - Flipbook - Page 17
The Challenge
Energy Storage Across Time and
Length Scales Strategic Initiative
Ten-Year Goal
Develop next-generation energy storage technologies and manufacturing
processes to sustain U.S. leadership in energy storage science and
technology and meet U.S. market demand in transportation and longduration stationary applications.
Energy Storage includes a broad range of technologies that can operate
across various time and length scales, and which can transform nearly
every aspect of society, from transportation to communication to
electricity delivery and domestic security. The next generation of energy
storage technologies will also accelerate decarbonization and improve
energy efficiency throughout the economy. Demand for simultaneously
sustainable, affordable, and resilient sources of power are driving dramatic
shifts throughout the electricity sector; shifting away from conventional
fossil-fuel fired generation and toward wind and solar photovoltaics.
However, the mismatch in timing between when solar and wind resources
produce electricity and when consumers use that electricity presents a
barrier to their further deployment. To enable large penetration (e.g.,
beyond 60%)8 of these resources, it is critical to have the flexibility to store
excess power generated at one time and location so it may be used at later
times or other locations to help lower the total power capacity needed
during peak annual periods. Storage technologies may even need to shift
power across seasonal time frames, as solar generation is significantly
greater in summer months than in winter months. New solutions are
needed to address these coming issues.
Advances in lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology revolutionized the
portable electronic market. However, the largest market demand for
energy storage in the coming decade will come from the transportation
sector. Significant electric vehicle-relevant advances in Li-ion technologies
over the last two decades have reduced costs by ~85%. They also have
been leveraged by stationary applications, with the majority of new gridconnected storage resources using lithium-based chemistries. In spite
of significant advancement and innovation in traditional Li-ion batteries
for portable electronics, transportation, and grid sectors, many critical
challenges such as lower cost, higher energy density and power, extended
life and cycle stability, improved safety, and unlimited supply of critical raw
materials still remain. To tackle these issues new Li-ion electrode materials
and battery manufacturing methods are needed to advance energy storage
in these sectors. However, the present-day commonality between mobile
and stationary storage technologies may diverge, and with greater duration
requirements and less stringent density or weight constraints, non-lithium
storage technologies may emerge as the most cost-effective solutions. By
carrying early-stage research and rapid technology validation, the Energy
Technologies Area (ETA) will accelerate the industry’s ability to adopt and
commercialize new innovative energy storage technologies.
8 Jenkins, J. D., M. Luke, and S. Thernstrom. “Getting to Zero Carbon Emissions in the Electric
Power Sector.” Joule 2, no. 12 (December 19, 2018): 2498–2510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
joule.2018.11.013.
30
|
E TA S t r a t e g i c P l a n 2 0 2 1 - 2 0 3 0
E TA S t r a t e g i c P l a n 2 0 2 1 - 2 0 3 0
|
31
