Cantwell To Appear At $75 Million Battery Technology Site

Washington U.S. Senator Cantwell will speak at the dedication ceremony for the new Grid Storage Launchpad at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland on Tuesday.

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Cantwell's office say she directed $75 million in federal money to fund the facility, which is intended to accelerate the research and development of battery technology.

The Launchpad will conduct testing of up to 12 technologies annually, from tiny batteries that fit into wrist watches to Electric Vehicle batteries.

It's the first brick-and-mortar facility the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity has invested in for battery technology.

A release from Sen. Canwell's office said, "The new Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL) will serve as a collaborative setting for national laboratories, universities, and industry to boost innovation and deployment of grid-scale energy storage technologies to help meet the nation’s decarbonization goals and make our energy system more resilient, reliable, and secure. GSL brings together all stages of the battery development cycle, from fundamental materials and device prototyping to 100-kW-scale testing and validation into a uniquely integrated facility."

Cantwell will be joined by these elected office holders and government management personnel:

Washington State Senator Matt Boehnke
Dr. Steve Ashby, Director, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Julie Turner, Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest Site Office
Dr. Geri Richmond, Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, U.S. Department of Energy
Gene Rodrigues, Assistant Secretary for Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy
Harriet Kung, Acting Director, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy
Jud Virden, Associate Director, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory