A reliable, affordable, resilient, and secure power grid is the foundation of modern society. Energy storage shapes bidirectional electricity flow and hence provides solutions for a future‐ready grid. This article highlights the importance of energy storage, particularly electrochemical energy storage in balancing supply and demand and creating new infrastructure planning options from deferral to rapid expansion. Emerging and innovative electrochemical energy storage technologies at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are summarized. Perspectives of future research are also provided with a focus on superior cost and performance characteristics, unlocking tremendous opportunities for a wide range of key stakeholders including utilities and growing industrial facilities like artificial intelligence centers.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.