Developing technology to store electrical energy to meet demand when needed represents a major breakthrough in electricity distribution. For more than a decade, Vince Sprenkle has been at the forefront of this effort.
Sprenkle, a recognized leader in electrochemical energy conversion and storage, serves as the Director of the Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL), a national research and development (R&D) facility of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-Office of Electricity (OE) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Sprenkle and the PNNL team are advancing the next generation of storage solutions to help meet the country’s 2030 clean energy goals. These solutions range from development of lower cost long-duration storage technologies, supporting development of safety codes and standards, validated performance testing, development of regulatory and planning models, and energy equity through energy storage.
The new Grid Storage Launchpad will be instrumental in helping the DOE meet the nation’s long-term energy storage needs and serve as an innovation and testing facility to accelerate development, validation, and commercial readiness of next generation grid storage technologies for the power grid.
Sprenkle holds 32 patents for his work on fuel cells, batteries, and electrochemical devices (as of 2023). He was named the Distinguished Inventor of Battelle in 2017 and PNNL Inventor of the Year in 2014. In addition, Dr. Sprenkle currently serves as Co-Director of DOE’s Energy Storage Grand Challenge Laboratory Coordinating Team and Director of DOE-OE’s Rapid Operational Validation Initiative.