Energy Storage - More Information
Flywheel energy storage system in San Ramon, California |
 | As energy storage technology may be applied to a number of areas that differ in power and energy requirements, DOE's Energy Storage Program performs research and development on a wide variety of storage technologies. This broad technology base includes batteries (both conventional and advanced), flywheels, electrochemical capacitors, superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), power electronics, and control systems. The Energy Storage Program works closely with industry partners, and many of its projects are highly cost-shared.
The Program collaborates with utilities and State energy organizations such as the California Energy Commission and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to field major pioneering storage installations that are several-megawatts in size. It also supports analytical studies on the technical and economic performance of storage technologies. Enhanced energy storage can provide multiple benefits to both the power industry and its customers. Among these benefits are:
- Improved power quality and the reliable delivery of electricity to customers;
- Improved stability and reliability of transmission and distribution systems;
- Increased use of existing equipment, thereby deferring or eliminating costly upgrades;
- Improved availability and increased market value of distributed generation sources.
The Energy Storage Program also seeks to improve energy storage density by conducting research into advanced electrolytes and nano-structured electrodes. In Power Electronics, research into new high-voltage, high power, wide-band-gap materials such as silicon-carbide composites, diamonds, and diamond-graphite composites is underway. A number of Small Business Innovation Research projects support this work.
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