A new report calls for expanding pre-production pilot lines to bridge lab innovations to market, strengthen supply chains and support emerging technologies.
Energy storage research breakthroughs pose considerable benefits for U.S. manufacturing, supply chain resilience, grid stability and national security. That is, if breakthroughs occurring in U.S. startups, at national labs and American universities turn into products made here at home.
A new report from Li-Bridge, a U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory-led public-private alliance aiming to accelerate a robust domestic supply chain for lithium-based batteries, assesses the "pre-production pilot" stage of the tech deployment pipeline. Pre-production pilot lines are smaller manufacturing lines with automated tools, dry rooms and quality checks - past the lab, but not yet a factory. The report's takeaway: the U.S. needs significantly more pilot line capacity, where thousands of real battery cells can be built to prove viability, to ensure that firms can scale up sustainably without being forced to offshore or commercialize too early.
"American innovation in energy storage research is unmatched," said David Roberts, director of Li-Bridge. "This report shows that by expanding pre-production pilot lines, we can better foster the production of cutting-edge technologies here at home and bolster U.S. leadership."
"The U.S. R&D community is innovating across many areas - from novel materials discovery to new manufacturing approaches to reduce cost," said Venkat Srinivasan, director of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science. "Piloting is a crucial step in the process as well as a challenging area for many U.S. firms looking to bring their advancements to market. This report provides critical insights toward tackling challenges ahead."
Demand for pilot line capacity is estimated to hit 400 megawatt hours by 2030, according to the report, authored in collaboration with AVICENNE Energy, a firm engaged to assess the state of pilot lines in the U.S. and draft recommendations.
Supply, however, is estimated to grow only to approximately 33.75 megawatt-hours (8.4% of projected demand). This will result in a severe shortage of pre-production pilot facilities. The report defines these as facilities that can operate at Manufacturing Readiness Levels 3–5, or roughly Technology Readiness Levels 4–6. With targeted federal support and a focus on matching funds for existing facilities ready to expand, capacity could rise to between 69 and 174 megawatt-hours by 2030.
Without intervention, most mid-stage scale-up is expected to occur overseas, putting U.S. intellectual property and manufacturing competitiveness at risk.
Based on broad input from 65 storage-related companies, the report proposes increasing support of a coordinated Pre-Production Pilot Line Network (PLN), beginning with existing providers and those with expansion plans in progress. Each participating facility would require approximately $27.5 million in initial capital investment (including utilities, dry room and end-of-line equipment) plus additional operational support to hire staff early.
A major addition or upgrade requires a timeline of approximately two years from funding to full operation. Smaller upgrades to existing technologies can come online in approximately one year.
The national PLN would help align and improve:
- Standard operating procedures, ensuring consistent quality output.
- Workforce training, which otherwise can vary in experience and quality across providers.
- Materials and information-sharing standards, which can strengthen and protect U.S. intellectual property.
The network would also support emerging battery technologies, such as solid-state, lithium-metal, and sodium-ion, through an "emerging technology compliant" designation for capable facilities with proper measures against cross-contamination and intellectual property risk.
The work builds on analysis from a 2023 Li-Bridge report, "Building a Robust and Resilient U.S. Lithium Battery Supply Chain," which outlined 26 recommendations to strengthen domestic manufacturing and supply-chain resilience. Together, the reports chart pathways to ensure that innovations in the lab translate into manufacturing strength and secure energy leadership for the U.S.