Inactive

This request for information (RFI) is designed to solicit information that will aid in defining and evaluating the potential of several energy storage technologies against the suitability and cost/per... This request for information (RFI) is designed to solicit information that will aid in defining and evaluating the potential of several energy storage technologies against the suitability and cost/performance goals of the Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC). The first step in this process is to define the technologies to include in a report to Congress on energy storage technology pathways, and to establish innovation categories where research and development (R&D) could lead to improved performance and reduced costs. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are intending to launch the American-Made "Storage Innovations” Prize in October 2022 to understand and analyze these technology pathways. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NREL recognize the importance of energy storage in the clean energy transition. DOE has established the ESGC to accelerate the state-of-art in storage technologies and establish the U.S. as the global leader in energy storage development, commercialization, and utilization. The principal vision of the ESGC is to develop a robust domestic circular economy for energy storage systems (ESSs) and reduce foreign dependance for key technologies and components by 2030. This program will establish America as the global leader in storage technologies and aims to lead the way to global deployment of energy storage in power systems. The ESGC is advancing state-of-art of storage technologies and commercialization by implementing five tracks across the commercialization spectrum of technology development and market adoption. The ESGC roadmap has identified the role of ESSs in electric power systems and has described six key use cases for storage: (i) facilitating an evolving grid, (ii) serving remote communities, (iii) electrified mobility, (iv) interdependent network infrastructure, (v) critical services, and (vi) facility flexibility, efficiency, and value enhancement. The cost of storage is one of the greatest challenges in commercialization of these technologies in electric power systems, and the ESGC has proposed a cost target of $0.05/kWh-cycle levelized cost of storage (LCOS) by 2030 for systems that provide 10 hours of duration, using a methodology defined for the Duration Addition to Electricity Storage (DAYS) program by ARPA-E1. Reaching these cost and performance targets would help accelerate the adoption of these storage technologies, the key driving force of which is to increase adoption of variable renewable energy (VRE) to achieve net-zero targets for the electric grid. This RFI is part of an effort which responds to a request set forth in House Report 117-98, pg. 105, which instructs DOE: “[…] to publish a report on emerging energy storage technologies. Further, the report shall include an analysis of which technologies show promise for further or future funding. The emergent energy storage technologies explored in this report shall include, but not be limited to, supercapacitors, flow batteries, low-carbon hydrogen storage, and compressed-air energy storage.” 1 ARPA-E. Duration Addition to electricity Storage (DAYS) Overview. Washington D.C. Accessed on July 20, 2022 at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/DAYS_ProgramOverview_FINAL.pdf To respond to this language, an ESGC framework will be applied to analyze viable R&D pathways for different energy storage technologies. DOE and NREL intend to engage with industry to understand innovation gaps and R&D impacts for a range of promising storage technologies.