14 DAY TRIAL // The US Department of Energy recently announced that investments of up to $43 million (€35,09 million) are to be made on improving existing energy storage technologies, the end goal being that of optimizing the country's current power management.
More precisely, it is expected that both the national grid and electric vehicles will see an improvement in terms of efficiency and reliability, and that military bases presently operating in remote areas will gain better access to energy resources.
Apparently, said money will come from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which is basically a branch of the US Energy Department specializing in boosting research activities in this field.
As explained on the official website for the US Energy Department, the $43 million made available will be distributed as follows.
On the one hand, the AMPED program (Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices) will receive $30 million (€24,48 million) for twelve research projects.
On the other hand, the SBIR program will be given $13 million (€10,60 million) for seven research projects.
The former are to focus on aspects such as safety, performance levels and the lifespan of existing grid-scale and vehicle batteries, whereas the latter will be given a free hand to develop highly innovative ways of storing energy, both for households and for EVs.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu explained how, “This latest round of ARPA-E projects seek to address the remaining challenges in energy storage technologies, which could revolutionize the way Americans store and use energy in electric vehicles, the grid and beyond, while also potentially improving the access to energy for the U.S. military at forward operating bases in remote areas.”
Furthermore, “These cutting-edge projects could transform our energy infrastructure, dramatically reduce our reliance on imported oil and increase American energy security.”
Seeing how such investments in energy storage and energy management are quite likely to also translate into a diminished ecologic footprint for this country, we welcome their plans to push for energy efficiency on such a large scale.