As a global leader in energy storage research, Argonne’s cutting-edge science enables electric vehicles to travel farther, electronic devices to last longer, and renewable energy to be integrated into a more resilient electric grid. 

ACCESS leverages multidisciplinary teams, world-class facilities, and powerful scientific tools to help public- and private-sector partners turn science into solutions.

We work to transfer battery innovations to the marketplace, providing processes, materials, performance testing data, and finished cells to industries ranging from transportation to manufacturing. 

With an objective to meet a spectrum of energy storage challenges, Argonne has amassed more than 250 patented advanced cathode, anode, electrolyte, and additive components for lithium-ion, lithium-air, lithium-sulfur, sodium-ion, and flow batteries. In turn, we support a strong ecosystem for U.S. industry. 

Through licensing agreements with leading companies like General Motors, BASF, LG Chem, General Electric, and Toda America, ACCESS has spurred the construction of new plants, the creation of new jobs, and the continued growth and resilience of the U.S. advanced battery industry.

Argonne leads the newly-launched Low-cost Earth-abundant Na-ion Storage (LENS) Consortium, which aims to develop safe, inexpensive, and long-lasting sodium-ion batteries that are made from U.S. abundant materials. If optimized, sodium-ion technology can serve as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, which depend on critical elements found predominantly outside the U.S. LENS convenes 14 partners, including six national laboratories and eight universities from across the country.

The laboratory also serves as the lead institution in the Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), a DOE Energy Innovation Hub that brings together nearly 50 researchers across three national laboratories and 11 universities to enable next-generation battery materials discovery.