The US Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) said it planned to fund up to $100 million for pilot-scale energy storage demonstration projects.
They would focus on 10+ hour long-duration discharge non-lithium systems, and stationary storage applications.
The funding falls under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will support a diverse range of non-lithium long-duration energy storage (LDES)technologies to move towards commercial viability and utility-scale deployment.
Demand in the US will be driven by rising demand from residential and commercial buildings, industry, transportation and data centres.
“DOE estimates the US will need approximately 700-900GW of additional clean, firm capacity to reach net-zero emissions by 2050,” it said.
Short duration energy storage is already in use in the grid, but the department believes continued deployment of renewal energy will push boundaries.
The OCED plans to fund 3–15 projects with $5–20 million each. Funding solicitation begins late summer.
