
Energy resilience is at the forefront of innovation as the U.S. strives to meet skyrocketing energy demand while ensuring energy security and independence. During the CES 2025 event, Stryten Energy hosted the panel discussion “Earth to Energy: Reimagining the Future of Energy Resilience.” During this discussion, experts from government and industry shared their insights into the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of energy storage and the battery supply chain.
Click here to watch the recording on the Stryten Energy YouTube channel.
Moderated by Melissa Floyd, Vice President of Communications and Digital Marketing at Stryten Energy, the panel included:
- Erik Spoerke, Senior Analytics Advisor for Energy Storage at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- Vick Singh, Senior Vice President of Technology at Dragonfly Energy Corporation
- Scott Childers, Vice President of Essential Power at Stryten Energy
Here are the highlights from the conversation:
Floyd: “What aspect does diversity in battery technologies play in the domestic supply chain?”
Dr. Spoerke emphasized the importance of creating a diverse portfolio of energy storage technologies to meet the anticipated use cases for the grid in the next five to 50 years. “The DOE is not in the business of picking a winner,” more than 30 different types of energy storage technologies representing different types of batteries have been funded over the last few decades to let the market recognize there are specific unique needs to be addressed and there is no single silver bullet.
Floyd: “What can other battery technologies learn from the circular economy of the lead battery industry?”
Childers highlighted the relationship between renewable and recyclable, “The lead battery industry recycles 98% of its content,” he said. “So, no new or very small amount of new mineral is extracted on a regular basis to support our manufacturing needs today.” A priority should be placed on recyclability to maximize the energy content of the raw material drawn from the earth. We are making strides from a public and private perspective for other battery chemistries to follow a similar closed-loop system.
Floyd: “What role do partnerships play in establishing a competitive domestic battery supply chain and production ecosystem?”
Dr. Singh stressed the role of collaboration in bridging gaps to compete with the vertically integrated landscape overseas. “In Asia, (companies) tend to vertically integrate. A cell manufacturer is making their own cathode active material or their own separator, and they might actually even be making their own battery packs and recycling some of that material as well,” he said. While U.S. companies may not be able to become vertically integrated as quickly or in the same manner as foreign counterparts, partnerships will help companies scale to become more cost-competitive and effective in the marketplace.
Dr. Spoerke added that pre-competitive opportunities can help tackle industry-wide challenges. The DOE funded three new consortia for different battery technologies in 2024 that will target critical issues to help everyone move their respective technologies forward and create the connected ecosystem to compete with the overseas market. “We have a real opportunity to get in and to make impact and create these more cohesive, cooperative, collaborative enterprises that allow for greater broader success and will be more competitive in the long run.”
Floyd: “If we could change one thing today about our domestic battery supply chain to be competitive internationally, what would that be?”
Dr. Spoerke pointed to significant economic impact of U.S. battery manufacturing. “There are 23 factories being built right now that account for up to 23,000 American jobs. That’s an investment that I would expect to grow”
Dr. Singh identified the current gaps in the domestic battery supply chain, focusing on lithium processing. We need to evaluate the entire value chain, identify missing operations and leverage international partnerships as we establish supply chain resilience.
Childers adds that increasing mineral extraction in the western hemisphere is critical to competitiveness, as well as recycling that material. Dr. Spoerke agreed with the need for a “long-term sustainability approach” where materials are reused instead of consumed.
Floyd: “How can the US energy industry keep up with this demand and what technologies do you see as the most promising to provide grid resilience?”
Dr. Spoerke vividly describes an unprecedented era for the U.S. energy industry, one not seen since the 1950s. As demand has increased, we have become more efficient, which has allowed the grid to “cobble itself together” over the years. We are now at a time when energy storage will play a huge role, and he reiterated that no single technology could keep up with demand. Dr. Spoerke compares energy storage to a Swiss Army knife, “it allows you to transfer time, and you can time shift your energy, and you can bring on different energy sources.” Combining energy storage with expanded transmission, diverse generation, improved cybersecurity and advanced grid controls will allow us to be adaptable to the challenges of the evolving modern grid.
Final Takeaways
At the end of the discussion, Floyd asked the panelists to share their key takeaways for achieving energy resilience and bolstering our domestic battery supply chain.
- Singh believes that government, industry and the investment sector need to be more targeted and efficient with the investments made to be competitive long-term.
- Childers mentions lowering costs and introducing distributed energy resources into the marketplace as an economic player.
- Spoerke references the goal of the Office of Electricity: to deliver secure, resilient, reliable, and affordable electricity to every American, and we have a tremendous opportunity to do so.
To hear more from the experts, click here to watch the recording on the Stryten Energy YouTube channel.