Houston-based partners to create new $75M Pacific Northwest National Lab Grid Storage Launchpad
Hoping to speed energy storage innovation, clean energy adoption, and a more resilient grid, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $75 million to Harvey | Harvey-Cleary and Kirksey Architecture of Houston to create the Grid Storage Launchpad for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
“The Grid Storage Launchpad will offer tremendous opportunities for collaborative research and development of next generation grid storage technologies,” Patricia Hoffman, the DOE acting assistant secretary for electricity, said. “By bringing together the best and brightest minds in a state-of-the-art facility, we will accelerate energy storage innovation, boost clean energy adaptation, and increase grid safety, reliability and resilience to support a growing fleet of electric vehicles and increasing renewable power.”
This collaborative research center will offer systematic and independent validation of new grid storage technologies from fundamentals to execution, with the ability to test them under realistic grid operating conditions. It will also serve as a link between researchers from the different national labs, universities, and industries to collaborate on grid-scale energy storage technologies.
Although the facility has yet to be designed, specs call for a minimum of 85,000 gross square feet, with room for 30 research laboratories plus testing chambers. The Houston partners will design and build the facility, as they have been tapped to do with other PNNL buildings. Construction could begin later this year, and the DOE wants to see it operational as soon as 2023. It will be staffed by approximately 100 staff at that time.
“Affordable grid-scale energy storage is a requirement for broad decarbonization of the electricity supply and a more resilient and flexible power grid,” PNNL Director Steven Ashby said. “Today, widespread deployment of energy storage for grid applications is inhibited by the need for improved performance and reduced cost, and the ability to validate the reliability and safety of new technologies. Research at the Grid Storage Launchpad will address these challenges, accelerating the development and deployment of new grid storage technologies.”
The facility will also benefit from $8.3 million of funding from the state of Washington to buy advanced research equipment and specialized instrumentation to provide greater insights into how battery materials behave during use.
