The Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) focuses resources from across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create a comprehensive program to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of next-generation energy storage technologies and sustain American global leadership in energy storage. DOE is adept at R&D, but R&D is not sufficient for the United States to be the world leader in energy storage. While DOE has world-class researchers, enhanced efforts are required to transition technology from the lab to the marketplace and to facilitate manufacturing at scale. This comprehensive set of solutions requires concerted action, supported by a bold mission, vision, and goal.

Mission: To be a global leader in energy storage innovation, manufacturing, and utilization.

Vision:  Energy storage technologies enable a U.S. and global energy system that is resilient, flexible, affordable, and secure.

Goal: To develop and domestically manufacture energy storage technologies that can meet all marketplace demands by 2030.

In December 2020, DOE released the ESGC Roadmap. The Roadmap outlines a Department-wide strategy to accelerate innovation across a range of storage technologies based on three concepts: Innovate Here, Make Here, Deploy Everywhere. The Roadmap includes a holistic approach to energy storage that incorporates five tracks, starting with fundamental R&D for storage technologies and following through to production and commercialization. 

• The Technology Development Track aligns DOE’s ongoing and future energy storage R&D around Use Cases and long-term leadership.
• 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.
• The Technology Transition Track will work to ensure that DOE’s R&D transitions to 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.

The Energy Storage Grand Challenge is a cross-cutting effort managed by DOE’s Research and Technology Investment Committee (RTIC). The Department established the RTIC in 2019 to convene the key elements of DOE that support research and development cross-cutting opportunities in both basic and applied science and technology.  

DOE established the RTIC in response to the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act, which was enacted in September 2018. The Energy Storage Subcommittee of the RTIC is co-chaired by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Office of Electricity and includes the Office of Science, Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Office of Technology Transitions, ARPA-E, Office of Policy, the Loan Programs Office, and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. 

DOE looks forward to continuing to engage with stakeholders as we pursue the goals of the challenge.