The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to allocate up to USD 100 million (EUR 92.4 million) to support the development of pilot-scale, long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects using non-lithium technologies.
The initiative, managed by DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), aims to foster projects capable of discharging for over 10 hours and designed for stationary storage applications.
OCED issued a notice of intent for the financing initiative, signaling its intention to launch a funding solicitation later in the summer or early autumn.
The initiative seeks to fund between three and 15 projects, with each project eligible for USD 5 million to 20 million in funding, requiring a non-federal cost share of at least 50%. The participation of utilities, facility owners, operators, developers, and financiers will be encouraged.
DOE highlighted the critical role of LDES systems in bolstering grid resilience amidst the increasing deployment of variable renewable energy sources.
While short-duration energy storage currently supports the grid, expanding LDES capacity is essential to meeting the US's net-zero emissions goal by 2050, requiring an estimated 700 GW to 900 GW of additional firming capacity.
