The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance research in battery science and strengthen supply chains for critical materials.
Argonne Laboratory Director Paul Kearns and Vice President for Research and Innovation at UT Dallas Joseph J. Pancrazio signed the MOU during a ceremony on Tuesday, July 22, at Argonne's Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF) - a state-of-the-art facility that offers rapid scale-up from benchtop to pilot scale by bridging the gap between research and industry. The MERF will be a vital place for interinstitutional collaboration during the partnership.
"We have been working with UT Dallas on meaningful research for many years, and today's MOU is the next step in expanding this collaboration," Kearns said. "With our complementary strengths in science and engineering, we have the great potential to make an even greater impact on U.S. prosperity and security driven by pivotal discoveries and transformative innovations."
The collaboration will bring together researchers from Argonne's Advanced Energy Technologies (AET) directorate and UT Dallas's Batteries and Energy to Advance Commercialization and National Security (BEACONS) Center. BEACONS was formed in 2023 as the U.S. Department of Defense provided a $30 million award to establish an energy storage systems campus at UT Dallas. The program aims to drive energy storage solutions for both researchers and industry partners.
"This partnership will further enhance the strong connection between our two institutions and allow our people to work together with the common goal of furthering scientific breakthroughs in areas critical to U.S. competitiveness and national security," said AET Associate Laboratory Director Claus Daniel. "We are working together with partners in academia and industry to lead the charge in battery science, critical material supply chain development and workforce development - today and for years to come."
The MOU will help address critical technology gaps and advance energy storage innovation to reinforce U.S. competitiveness. Together, Argonne and UT Dallas will work toward an abundant supply of domestic critical materials, which will be important to strengthen the future of battery manufacturing and energy security in the U.S.
Argonne will also engage UT Dallas students in professional development opportunities to enrich the future workforce for energy storage and critical materials.
"By working together, we can collaborate on multiple areas like creating and upscaling the development of critical materials and optimizing battery systems," said Jianlin Li, department director of energy storage and conversion at Argonne. "All of this will contribute to establish a more stable and competitive energy storage supply chain within the U.S."