US Not Ready To Give Up On Energy Storage -- UYet

The US energy storage sector has experienced significant growth alongside the expanding wind and solar industries since the early 2000s. Despite recent shifts in White House energy policy and partisan opposition to renewables, the US Department of Energy (DOE) continues to invest in next-generation energy storage technologies, recently releasing $15 million in funding for advanced storage projects. Energy storage is increasingly recognized as energy source-agnostic, benefiting not only renewables but also fossil fuel-based grid power. This broader appeal is driven in part by the data center industry's demand for reliable, resilient, and cost-saving energy solutions, including onsite storage that can replace traditional backup generators and reduce peak utility costs. A notable example of innovation in this space is Quino Energy, a US startup developing organic flow batteries using quinones instead of traditional vanadium. This approach allows deployment in existing oil storage tanks without corrosion, significantly lowering hardware costs. Quino recently secured $10 million from the California Energy Commission and an additional $5 million from the DOE