Pacific Northwest National Laboratory hosts battery-industry and public-sector experts to support next-gen grid-scale storage technology.
Stakeholders from leading energy storage companies and three national labs met on a campus of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on March 11–12 to create experiment plans and targets with the goal of improving energy storage and grid-scale battery technology in the United States.
The meeting was conducted as part of the Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership, which is a research program managed by Battery Council International (BCI). The March meeting was funded by BCI through prior grants for the project.
The effort aims to develop the next generation of lead batteries through a research-driven focus on battery life, capacity, and cost-effectiveness.
“BCI believes public-private partnerships like this one are critical to providing practical innovations in energy storage,” said Dr. Tim Ellis, BCI’s technical director for the Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership. “By connecting key stakeholders at domestic manufacturers with the world-class research capabilities at our national labs and the Department of Energy, we can accelerate research timelines and commercialize new products efficiently and cost-effectively.”
In April 2024, BCI was awarded $5 million by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish the Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership.
DOE has asked the Consortium to help research and develop lead batteries that are capable of 10+ hours of storage with a pathway to a $0.05/kWh levelized cost of storage by 2030. The current levelized cost of storage for lead batteries can be as high as $0.38/kWh.
BCI’s Tim Ellis and Matt Raiford of the Consortium for Battery Innovation will facilitate research and collaboration between private-sector stakeholders and public-sector researchers at DOE and three U.S. national labs, including Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Private-sector partners in the Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership include the following:
“The Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership has gathered some of the brightest minds in the domestic battery industry,” said Matt Raiford of the Consortium for Battery Innovation. “Together with the best-in-class research capabilities of U.S. National Labs and the Department of Energy, we’re excited to work together on the next generation of innovation and progress in lead batteries.”
About Battery Council International
Battery Council International (BCI) is the leading trade association representing the global battery industry and is the premier authority on energy storage solutions. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024, BCI advocates and educates on behalf of battery manufacturers and recyclers, marketers and retailers, suppliers of raw materials and equipment and battery distributors. With a unified voice, BCI conveys an industry-wide commitment to sustainability, safety and science. The organization continues to unite members within the industry to successfully communicate and protect—through education, science and advocacy efforts—the most successful circular economy on the planet. For more information, visit www.batterycouncil.org.
About The Consortium for Battery Innovation
For more than 25 years, the Consortium has delivered cutting-edge research taking lead batteries to a new level. With an expert panel made up of the world’s leading battery manufacturers and research specialists, the Consortium is setting the standard for advanced lead batteries and the next generation of energy storage. The mission of the Consortium for Battery Innovation is to serve the needs of its members by supporting cutting-edge pre-competitive scientific research and promoting innovation in lead battery technology to maximize the market potential for lead batteries and the prosperity of actors in the lead battery value chain. For more information, visit www.batteryinnovation.org.
