Energy Storage
Advancing the development of affordable and reliable energy storage solutions
Quick facts
- LLNL researchers carry out fundamental and applied research in electrical, chemical, and thermal energy storage.
- Our battery research spans several different battery types, including solid-state, lithium ion, lithium metal, sodium ion, flow, and more.
- We are also establishing a modeling-guided design and optimization framework to accelerate the advancement of next-generation energy storage technologies, tailored for a variety of applications.
Realizing cost-effective and efficient renewable energy grid storage has long been a challenge for scientists and engineers. Next-generation technology needs require energy storage systems with much larger storage capacities, rapid charge/discharge capabilities, and improved lifetimes. Progress in these areas demands a more complete understanding of energy storage processes at atomic and micron length scales.
Lawrence Livermore researchers have developed innovative approaches to address these key challenges. Our research efforts span a range of topics across electrical, chemical, and thermal energy storage:
- Understanding the underlying physics and chemistry of energy storage systems
- Identifying the properties and function of materials used for energy storage
- Controlling the synthesis, processing, and architecture design of new energy storage devices with optimized functionality
Our researchers have developed—and continue to maintain—unique capabilities aimed at furthering our understanding in these topic areas. These capabilities include:
- Multiscale, multiphysics modeling to inform targeted design and optimization
- Closely coupled theory and experimental feedback loops to accelerate the development of new materials systems
- 3D printing to rapidly prototype unique architectures
- Laser processing for fast, tunable material fabrication
Research focus areas
LEAF researchers apply their unique expertise in four main focus areas:
Shrinking device sizes, as well as the need for longer run times and better performance, have spurred research efforts into more robust battery designs. Our materials scientists are focused on better understanding the electrical and chemical processes in batteries, as well as how battery materials perform and degrade over time. By applying what we learn, we hope to develop more efficient, safer, and cost-effective batteries for a variety of energy applications.
Because benefits, drawbacks, performance, safety, and application space can vary widely among batteries, our research spans several battery types:
- Solid-state: We are applying advanced modeling to further understand the electro-chemo-mechanical effects that influence the performance of 3D architected electrochemical cells. Additionally, capabilities in selective laser sintering, cold spray technology, and 3D printing help us process battery components and address interfacial compatibility issues important to manufacturing scalable and low-cost batteries.
- Flow: We are developing advanced iron-based redox flow (IRFB) batteries with a discharge capacity of more than 10 hours. We are also exploring novel materials and rebalancing technologies to support the robust and durable operation of low-cost IRFB systems.
- Lithium and sodium ion: Integrated modeling and characterization approaches are helping us determine how structural and chemical interfaces affect cell performance over multiple charge and discharge cycles and identify crucial design parameters to optimize battery architectures. Our research focuses on understanding interface evolution and degradation, nearby chemical processes and phase transformations, and the formation of solid-electrolyte-interphases (SEI) and cathode-electrolyte-interphases (CEI). Our expertise in materials development, advanced manufacturing (including 3D printing and laser processing), and design optimization helps us rapidly prototype batteries with enhanced performance.
- Thermally activated: We are investigating the phase transformation mechanisms of novel solid electrolyte materials with the goal to improve thermal battery performance.
Distinct from conventional batteries, supercapacitors rely on energy storage at an electrode–electrode interface, offering intrinsic high-power densities and fast charging and discharging capabilities. Graphene-based materials are promising for supercapacitor electrodes, as they feature high surface area, good electrical conductivity, and chemical inertness. However, they are often limited by a relatively small overall storage capacity.
Our research explores multiple strategies to improve the capacitive performance of graphene-based electrodes:
- Modifying material properties through controlled functionalization
- Developing graphene-based composites and pseudocapacitive materials
- Manipulating the 3D architecture of the electrode through advanced additive manufacturing techniques
Concentrated solar power systems depend on thermal storage to provide flexible and efficient use of the energy they generate. These systems rely on a storage medium that can rapidly store and release a large amount of latent heat during its phase transformation process. Controlling the thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors of phase transformations is extremely challenging, particularly at elevated temperatures. As a result, systems operate far beneath their theoretical maximum efficiencies.
Our researchers are developing a reliable research capability, integrating multiscale modeling and experimental approaches to understand, predict, and control high-temperature phase transformations and their thermal/chemical instabilities. Our research focuses on metal hydride-based materials as promising storage medium candidates at high temperatures.
Optimal energy storage device operation happens in a relatively small range of environmental (e.g. temperature) and use (e.g. charge rate) conditions. When devices are placed in conditions outside this range, performance degrades and catastrophic failure can occur.
We are establishing a framework to support multiscale design and optimization of energy storage devices. Our framework unlocks critical scientific insights in ion transport, morphologic evolution, and solid mechanics under extreme conditions. The framework couples simulation and characterization of materials under extreme conditions to understand the physics and mechanisms underlying these key phenomena.
We further use device-level models, optimization tools, additive manufacturing, and characterization techniques to understand the macroscale events—such as mass transport, microcracking, and failure modes—that can happen when batteries operate under extreme conditions.

Cross-cutting research
Our research in general energy storage also supports our efforts to improve hydrogen storage systems.