U.S. Energy Department Begins Implementation of $505 Million Long-Duration Energy Storage Program

The U.S. Energy Department on May 12 published a request for information seeking input on long-duration energy storage that could power the grid for at least ten hours. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $505 million in funding towards the Long Duration Energy Storage for Everyone, Everywhere Initiative. To achieve a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a fully decarbonized economy by 2050, the Biden Administration recognizes the role of energy storage for affordable and reliable clean energy solutions.

• The infrastructure law authorized appropriations for four energy storage programs:
  Demonstration Projects: Program to fund at least three long-duration energy storage demonstrations, with one dedicated to weekly to monthly or seasonal duration, and another to a grid demonstration of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries.
• Pilot Grant Program: Initiative aimed to bring a range of benefits provided by storage to targeted recipients including States, Tribes, and utilities.
• Long-Duration Demonstration Initiative: Flexible program that may target demonstrations for a range of long-duration technology types.

Through the infrastructure law, the funds will be allocated over the four-year period of 2022 to 2025. For these long-term storage demonstrations on government facilities, the agency intends to collaborate with the Department of Defense.

Among the agency’s ongoing initiatives supporting long-duration storage, the “Long Duration Energy Storage Shot” launched in July 2021, aims to reduce the cost of energy storage to $0.05 per kilowatt-hour by 2030, 90 percent less than the baseline cost of 2020. The department developed this initiative through the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, created in 2020, establishing a set of goals to reach by 2030 in the areas of technology development, technology transfer, policy and valuation, manufacturing and supply chain, and workforce.

In response to the RFI, agency officials are seeking feedback from a wide range of stakeholders on the program’s optimal implementation and the requirements for such technologies as electrochemical, mechanical, thermal, or a combination. Responses must be submitted by June 16.