Energy Storage Grand Challenge (2020 Transition)
 | This page in a nutshell: The mission of the ESGC is to lead globally in energy storage innovation, manufacturing, and utilization. |
| Book 2 - Issue Papers
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| Entire 2020 DOE Transition book As of October 2020 |
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) is a comprehensive program to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of next generation energy storage technologies and build American global leadership in energy storage. Launched by Secretary Dan Brouillette in January 2020, the ESGC is a cross-cutting effort managed by DOE’s Research Technology Investment Committee (RTIC), which is chaired by the Secretary. The RTIC established an Energy Storage Subcommittee to manage the ESGC, and that subcommittee is co-chaired by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Office of Electricity (OE). The effort involves 8 DOE offices [EERE, OE, Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy (ARPA-E), Fossil Energy (FE), Nuclear Energy (NE), Loan Programs Office (LPO), Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), and Science (SC)] and has a Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget of $345 million.
Issue(s)
International competition remains fierce in the race to dominate market share in a suite of energy storage technologies for a variety of applications. As the market for energy storage products and services grows domestically and worldwide, U.S. reliance on foreign supplies of raw materials, components, and finished manufactured products creates a national security concern. The key issue is how to plan and coordinate efforts across the Department—as well as with other Federal agencies, states, utilities, industry, and other stakeholders—to achieve the ESGC goal and strengthen U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.
Status
In July 2020, DOE published a Draft Roadmap to guide Departmental efforts on activities that can help achieve the 2030 ESGC mission. DOE is updating the Draft Roadmap based on responses from the public to a Request for Information (RFI), which closed on August 31, 2020. DOE is considering over 2,800 responses from the RFI as it makes edits and updates. DOE is also developing an Energy Storage Market and Cost Projections Report to inform ESGC strategy and assess progress toward ESGC goals. Both the final Roadmap and the market report are scheduled for release in Fall 2020. In September 2020, DOE released a lab call to select a lead ESGC Lab Coordinator. Supported by multiple DOE program offices, the Lab Coordinator will track and coordinate efforts across DOE’s lab complex. A core team representing each of the five ESGC “tracks” (see Background) from offices across the Department meets weekly to coordinate ESGC actions.
Milestone(s)
- January 2020 - Secretary Brouillette announced the ESGC. Spring 2020 DOE conducted a series of stakeholder outreach sessions.
- July 2020 - DOE released the Energy Storage Grand Challenge Draft Roadmap and Request for Information.
- Fall 2020 - DOE updates Draft Roadmap based on stakeholder input. DOE will release a final Roadmap, as well as an Energy Storage Market and Cost Projections Report.
- Winter 2021 - DOE offices will finalize and begin executing work plans consistent with Roadmap conclusions. Continuous DOE releases funding opportunity announcements and supports National Lab research and analysis to advance ESGC objectives. DOE provides updates to the RTIC and receives guidance.
Background
In FY 2017-2020, DOE invested approximately $1.6 billion into energy storage research and development, an average of $400 million per year. Nonetheless, the Department has never had a comprehensive strategy to address energy storage . After stakeholder consultations, DOE developed a Draft Roadmap that includes five tracks:
Technology Development Track
The Technology Development Track will align DOE’s ongoing and future energy storage research and development (R&D) around user-centric use cases and long-term leadership .
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Track
The Manufacturing and Supply Chain Track will develop technologies, approaches, and strategies for U.S. manufacturing that support and strengthen U.S. leadership in innovation and continued at-scale manufacturing.
Technology Transition Track
- The Technology Transition Track will work to ensure that DOE’s R&D transitions to domestic markets through field validation, demonstration projects, public private partnerships, bankable business model development, and the dissemination of high-quality market data.
- The Policy and Valuation Track will provide data, tools, and analysis to support policy decisions and maximize the value of energy storage.
- The Workforce Development Track will educate the workforce, who can then research, develop, design, manufacture, and operate energy storage systems.
A system of inter-related metrics across the tracks will be used to establish targets and continuously assess progress. Cost target ranges linked to potential market demand have been developed for each of six use cases. Use case-driven technical performance metrics will help guide R&D activities. Manufacturing metrics and targets link production cost and performance to meet emerging market demand, supporting a commercially competitive energy storage revolution in the U.S. These goals are encapsulated in a “50 by 30” goal: that by 2030, storage technologies should cost-effectively serve 50 percent of the target markets identified in the ESGC use cases .