SCC-DG: Community-driven Circular Energy Storage: Strengthening Resilience Through Technological Charity

Electricity demand is rising rapidly across the U.S., driven by the expansion of energy-intensive facilities such as battery plants and data centers. While demand-side programs offer a flexible solution to manage peak loads, many communities are often left out due to high costs and limited access to existing energy storage systems that support participation in demand-response initiatives and reduce grid dependence during power disruptions. Our goal is to strengthen U.S. energy resilience by developing an affordable, general-purpose alternative to existing storage systems. By repurposing retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries, we aim to build community-driven, sustainable energy storage systems that provide backup power and demand flexibility where needed. Our Battery-Second-Use Community Energy Storage (B2U-CES) model is unique in that it: (1) leverages community-donated EV batteries as a circular resource, fostering a sense of ownership and shared responsibility in supporting essential community facilities; and (2) engages local stakeholders in co-designing pilot systems that combine virtual testing with real-world deployment. This project will deliver broad societal, economic, and environmental benefits by improving energy resilience, reducing battery waste, and promoting circular energy practices.

Through cross-sector collaboration and engagement with community partners, this research will develop a comprehensive, community-driven energy resilience solution that addresses the societal, technical, and economic challenges of B2U-CES. The integrative research - spanning batteries, power electronics, building systems, control strategies, decision-making, and machine learning - will advance adaptive, community-centered energy storage systems and generate key outcomes: (1) a stakeholder-informed dataset capturing the social and techno-economic challenges and drivers influencing B2U-CES adoption; (2) a high-fidelity virtual testbed for battery diagnostics, system architecture optimization, and integration with building energy systems, supported by a physics-informed, safety-aware reinforcement learning control strategy; and (3) a hierarchical market mechanism that models stakeholder decision-making to guide sustainable system planning and management. These insights will provide a robust foundation for a computational framework that enables safe, community-informed B2U-CES design and testing, laying the groundwork for future pilot implementation.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.