2011 Batteries and Energy Storage Research Information Meeting

The Department of Energy's Office of Science will hold a public meeting to provide information and receive comments from the public on directions for a potential research effort on batteries and energy storage. The information from this meeting may inform the proposed Batteries and Energy Storage Energy Innovation Hub, at such time it is approved for funding.

Advanced energy storage solutions have become increasingly critical to the Nation with the expanded deployment of renewable energy sources, coupled with growth in the numbers of hybrid and electric vehicles. For the electrical grid, new approaches to electrochemical energy storage are needed to enable inherently intermittent renewable energy sources to meet continuous electricity demand. For vehicles, new batteries with improved lifetimes and storage capacities are needed to expand range of electric vehicles for a single charge, while simultaneously decreasing the manufacturing cost and weight. Today's electrical energy storage approaches suffer from limited energy and power capacities, lower-than-desired rates of charge and discharge, cycle life limitations, low abuse tolerance, high cost, and inadequate performance at high or low temperatures.

The agenda for the public meeting will include presentations on current DOE activities covering basic science research and technology development related to electrochemical energy storage for transportation and grid applications. Comments will be solicited from the meeting participants (both live and electronic) on the following questions regarding the proposed Hub:

Engineering advances are needed to address manufacturing, cost, and overall system efficiencies. What is the correct balance between science and engineering research?
An important goal of research in this area is to ensure that science and engineering advances impact the commercial sector. How can industry best contribute?
New research in this area should be distinct from ongoing federal, state, and industrial research activities. Does the description of proposed activity (to be provided during the meeting) establish this distinction?
The most recent DOE surveys of research in this area are the 2007 Basic Research Needs for Electrical Energy Storage workshop report and the energy storage section of the 2010 Science for Energy Technology report, which identified priority research directions for basic research that would allow technology advances in energy storage. Have new underpinning scientific issues emerged in electrochemical energy storage since these reports were issued?

Due to space restrictions, on-site participation will be limited. Pre-registration will be required, with a maximum registration of 250 on-site participants. Due to the space limitations, the number of participants from a single organization may be limited. To accommodate additional participants, the meeting will be simultaneously broadcast over the internet with the opportunity to provide electronic comments. Comments on the above questions, as well as general comments on the overall DOE program in batteries and energy storage, will be accepted for consideration. A transcript of the information provided by DOE at the meeting and comments submitted (at the meeting and electronically) will be published on the DOE Office of Science webpage.