V. Durvasulu, W.H. Balliet, P. Balducci, B. Shrager
Idaho National Laboratory,
United States
Keywords: storage innovations, technology pathways, storage abundance
Summary:
Demand growth and changes in resource mix are straining resource adequacy across the US. This operational challenge introduces significant risks to grid stability. Advanced energy storage, capable of dispatching energy for 10 or more hours, is widely recognized as a critical enabler for this new era of energy self-reliance. However, widespread deployment is currently hindered by a significant barrier: cost. DOE's Storage Innovations (SI) 2030 initiative focuses on developing the specific, quantifiable, and actionable pathways from basic cell level challenges to deployment required to reduce costs. This presentation outlines the updated framework and findings from the SI 2030 Technology Strategy Assessments. The first set of strategy assessments was published in 2023 and the team is excited to present the new set that incorporates all of the advancements in the past three years. At the core of this work is stakeholder engagement from all corners of the storage complex from leading research professors to manufacturers, researchers and utilities across various technologies—including electrochemical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical systems. This analysis identifies the most impactful areas for research, development, and deployment (RD&D) for each technology class. Key findings demonstrate that cost-reduction innovations must target not only core technology components but also balance-of-plant systems, manufacturing processes, grid integration, and project development cycles. This presentation will provide the attendees with an overview of the various pathways and possibilities for energy storage technologies that are at different maturity levels. For nascent technologies we employed a new, strategic, stakeholder-driven assessment. The goal was to understand their unique potential for the U.S. We focused on identifying intrinsic national benefits (e.g., domestic supply chain security, unique reliability attributes) and understanding their specific scale-up challenges against established incumbents. We looked into ten different nascent technologies like CO2 and Sodium-ion and gravity technologies. For mature technologies, we applied a rigorous, quantitative treatment consistent with previous iterations. This involved stakeholder engagement, data analysis, and Monte Carlo simulations to understand the specific innovation portfolios required to "move the needle" and bridge the gap toward the LCOS target. The SI2030 initiative is not a collection of static expert opinions, but a dynamic portfolio of possibilities and probable scenarios. This work gives various pathways to choose and answer the most important questions 1. What is the impact, 2. How long will it take, and 3. How much will it cost. The work dissects primary cost barriers and presents a data-driven roadmap of innovations. The goal is not to pick winners, but to make winners possible, enabling the marketplace to select the best-fit solutions to build a future of American storage abundance and national energy self-reliance.