The primary aim of this tutorial is to give a broad overview of materials research related to grid energy storage systems, especially on R&D aspects of interest for engineers and scientists that are interested in learning the state of the grid energy storage technology. The instructors will review trends in materials and manufacturing technologies of interest for large-scale grid storage systems and the development of commercial grid-class energy storage systems:

1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
Part I
Energy Storage and Future Grid

An overview of the electric grid infrastructure and the importance of  energy storage for the future grid. There will be a discussion of the current role of energy storage in the grid and the impediments to large-scale deployment and requirements for large-scale adaption of electrochemical batteries.

2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
Part II
Grid Energy Storage Materials and Manufacturing

Emphasizing materials for large-scale electrochemical energy storage, the tutorial will review active materials and used mature battery technologies such as lithium-ion, advanced lead acid and sodium sulfur, followed by a discussion of the state-of-the-art research to improve these battery technologies. New materials and battery technologies under development, including advanced redox flow, Na-ion, Li-S and alkaline batteries will be reviewed. Grid-scale applications of batteries require low-cost materials and manufacturing processes that are readily scalable for high-volume production. The instructors will present a comparative analysis of the manufacturing process for various battery technologies and discuss opportunities for improvement through new materials and process R&D.

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm   BREAK

3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
Part III
Systems and Engineering Aspects Including Safety and Reliability

The process of making batteries into energy storage requires a significant level of systems integration including packaging, thermal management systems, power electronics and power conversion systems and control electronics. The system and engineering aspects represent a significant cost and component, and system-level integration continues to present significant opportunities for further research. Unlike batteries for consumer electronics and battery packs for electric vehicles, the scale and complexity of large stationary applications in the electric grid impose a complex set of requirements on the safety and reliability of grid-scale energy storage systems. The instructors will review the fundamental safety aspects of grid energy storage and how this safety is connected to the electrochemistry of materials, cell-level interactions, packaging and thermal management at the cell and system level and the overall engineering and control architecture of large-scale energy storage systems. Examples related to superconducting, ion trap, defect and silicon germanium qubits will be presented.

4:15 pm – 5:00 pm
Part IV
Integration of Energy Storage in the Grid

An overview of many applications of energy storage in the electricity infrastructure and presentation of some examples that represent applications in residential behind the meter storage, microgrids and large grid tied storage systems. The instructors will review materials engineering issues that are relevant for system operators with some recent examples.

Instructors

• Babu Chalamala, Sandia National Laboratories
  
• Vincent L. Sprenkle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory