This Sandia-led DOE Office of Electricity demonstration project proved the effectiveness of sodium-sulfur batteries in peak shaving and capital deferment.
Energy Storage
Sandia works to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels both by integrating renewable energy generation into the electricity transmission/distribution grid and enabling widespread electrification of the nation’s transportation fleet by improving energy storage performance, economics, and safety. Sandia’s longstanding responsibility for all nuclear weapon power sources equips us with unique capabilities and expertise to develop technologies and methodologies that address this national security issue.
Sandia’s Energy Storage Research Program Fact Sheet 813.6 kB
Sandia provided technical guidance to Beacon Power as part of a DOE project to design a large-scale flywheel-based frequency regulation power plant.
Sandia collaborates with industry, academia, and government to reduce the cost of storage, demonstrate the effectiveness of storage technologies in the grid, and analyze policy options to value and perpetuate storage integration.
Sandia’s Stationary Energy Storage Research Program Fact Sheet 1.18 MB
A demonstration Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) in New York City.
Sandia’s transportation energy storage research programs apply scientific understanding of battery degradation mechanisms to develop technologies to improve battery performance, economics, and safety to enable widespread electrification of the nation’s transportation fleet.
Research to Improve Transportation Energy Storage Fact Sheet 804.98 kB
Addressing national needs in stationary, transportation, and defense:
Sandia is a national security laboratory with a long history of leading energy storage technology R&D. We have cradle-to-grave responsibility for all power sources for DOE defense programs, and apply our expertise to support DoD applications. Sandia provides leadership to the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Energy Storage Systems program through advanced technology development, device testing, technology demonstrations, and grid analysis. We play the lead role in evaluating the safety and reliability of energy storage (ES) devices for transportation systems.
We apply fundamental scientific expertise in electrochemistry, materials science, advanced diagnostics, and modeling and simulation to advance the ES programs. Facilities such as the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, the Advanced Materials Laboratory, our battery safety and abuse testing laboratory, our Power Sources Technology Group which houses 6,700 ft. of dry room space with advanced diagnostics and prototyping facilities, and the Red Sky computing platform provide unique capabilities for fundamental science and university and industry partnerships.
A Sandia researcher prepares to test a battery to determine its response under abuse conditions.
The Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory (BATLab) at Sandia is an internationally recognized leader in energy storage system safety research. The BATLab is committed to serving the energy storage community and the national interest with cutting-edge research programs, the highest quality testing results, and leadership in battery safety and reliability. For more than 13 years, the BATLab has supported the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Vehicle Technologies programs, whose goal is to enable new electric vehicle (EV) technologies. The BATLab also continues to support other DOE, Department of Defense, NASA, and private industry customers.
Sandia’s Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory Fact Sheet 870.86 kB