US greenlights $75m grid energy storage research facility

It will include 30 research laboratories, some of which will be testing chambers capable of assessing prototypes and new grid energy storage technologies under real-world grid operating conditions

The US Department of Energy has been given the green light for the design and construction of a $75 million (£54m) grid energy storage research facility in Washington.

The Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL) located at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland will help boost clean energy adoption and accelerate the development and deployment of long duration, low cost grid energy storage.

The planned facility, which is expected to be operational by 2025, will include 30 research laboratories, some of which will be testing chambers capable of assessing prototypes and new grid energy storage technologies under real-world grid operating conditions.

The GSL will include flexible workstations and collaboration spaces, including Fellowship Labs, which will provide dedicated space for researchers to incubate storage technologies originating from the US research and development community.

Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said: “The Grid Storage Launchpad facility will bring together researchers and industry from around the country to modernise and add flexibility to the power grid, advance storage technologies and boost use of clean energy.

“Deploying new grid technologies means we can get more renewable power on the system, support a growing fleet of electric vehicles, make our grid more reliable and resilient and secure our clean energy future.”

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