Tutorial ES1

Instructors

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

The primary aim of this tutorial is to present an overview of grid storage technology, especially those aspects of materials R&D that are relevant to the materials science community. The instructors will offer insights into the manufacturing aspects of large-scale electrochemical energy storage and the development of commercial grid-class energy storage systems.

Energy Storage and Future Grid

Vincent Sprenkle

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

Manufacturing of Grid-class Electrochemical Batteries–Comparative Analysis for Various Chemistries

Babu Chalamala, Vincent Sprenkle

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.

Systems and Engineering Aspects including Safety and Reliability

Babu Chalamala, Vincent Sprenkle

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.

Grid Integration

Babu Chalamala

The instructor will present examples of large-scale grid storage implementation around the world, including a discussion of operational details, with a review of data from some large demonstration systems.