Credit: Green Charge Networks
Plunging lithium-ion battery costs and better performance have
pushed energy storage technologies to the forefront of the decarbonization
movement. Lithium-ion is already reducing the need for natural gas generation,
according to a report from the Rocky Mountain
Institute (RMI). The group found that some existing natural gas
plants could be more expensive than a mix of storage, renewables, efficiency
and demand response as early as 2021.
"The department has a bunch of different workstreams on
different energy storage technologies. The biggest success story is lithium-ion
batteries, which have come down in cost significantly, in no small part because
of DOE investment in early-stage research and commercializing those technologies.
So these programs are really important," Krishnaswami said.
The DOE program will use "a coordinated suite of research
and development funding opportunities, prizes, partnerships and other
programs" with an eye to transforming the storage sector by 2030. Its
goals include developing new technologies, carrying them from the research
phase to private sector adoption and creating a value proposition for these
technologies, while also reducing U.S. dependence on foreign raw material and
improving the recyclability of storage components.
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