The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have been selected for a demonstration project to validate a long-duration energy storage system developed by battery manufacturer CMBlu Energy to improve microgrids in cold climates and make fast charging of electric vehicles more affordable in underserved communities.
Argonne and INL will deploy and evaluate CMBlu Energy’s Organic SolidFlow battery technology during the process.
The materials used in the construction of these batteries are non-metallic and abundant to build resilient and domestic supply chains. The batteries are targeted for community, industrial, and utility-scale applications of medium and long duration.
The project aims to provide valuable insights into microgrids, which are often used in remote or critical infrastructure settings. It is expected to strengthen the resilience of microgrids with a constant power supply, even during extended outages or fluctuations in the main grid.
Owing to the project, the fast charging of electric vehicles will be more affordable in rural and underserved communities with reduced charging facility installation and operational costs.
In the Midwest, Argonne researchers plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of CMBlu’s batteries at the lab’s Smart Energy Plaza, while researchers will conduct performance tests like assessing the Organic SolidFlow batteries at different temperatures at the INL Battery Test Center in Idaho to ensure the technology's reliability in diverse environments.
Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Jensen Hughes, Drive Clean Indiana, and National Grid are additional project partners.
