U.S. Energy Department Explores Use of Storage Technologies to Enhance Performance of Fossil-Fueled Power Plants

The U.S. Energy Department plans to announce a funding opportunity for energy storage technologies that can improve the performance, reliability, and flexibility of fossil-fueled power generating facilities, according to an April 7 news release. The department expects co-location of energy storage with fossil energy assets to enable multiple benefits, including more reliable and affordable energy supply, better environmental performance, and stronger energy infrastructure.

The funding opportunity, which is part of the new Advanced Energy Storage program, supports the department’s Energy Storage Grand Challenge, which establishes 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. The Grand Challenge initiative is a comprehensive program aimed to establish and sustain U.S. leadership in energy storage utilization and exports, with a domestic manufacturing supply chain that does not depend on foreign sources of critical materials.

The agency intends to solicit and award research projects focused on developing storage technologies for existing fossil-fueled power generating units, as well as new plants and other fossil energy systems platforms beyond electric power. These include industrial, distributed generation, poly-generation, waste heat recovery, and other innovative non-traditional concepts.