Army Selects Lockheed Martin for Long-Term Energy Storage Program

BETHESDA, Md. — The U.S. Army has selected Lockheed Martin to build the first megawatt-scale, long-duration energy storage system at Fort Carson in Colorado.

The installation and its use as a demonstration project for the Department of Defense is being overseen by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory.

“Electric grids are undergoing unprecedented change. Energy requirements are shifting as we consider renewable resources coupled with utility-scale, long-duration storage options,” said Dr. Andrew Nelson, director of CERL, in a written statement. 

“Solutions to increase resiliency and self-sufficiency are crucial to economically and sustainably supporting DoD operations,” Nelson said.

According to Lockheed Martin, the GirdStar Flow system being installed at Fort Carson is an “Innovative redox flow battery designed for large-capacity storage applications that stores power generated from renewable energy sources and dispatches it to electric grids during peak demand or unanticipated electricity loss.”

In the simplest terms, a redox flow battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy via an oxidation process.

Once installed, the system will be tested against protocols that simulate microgrid and renewable integration to ensure critical missions can continue in the event of a long-term power outage. 

It is expected to have a discharge duration of 10 hours, the defense contractor said in a press release.

Insights gained from this pilot project could support the deployment of future long-duration storage across all DoD services and installations.

Tom Jarvi, Lockheed Martin’s program director for its GridStar Flow program, said the contractor is committed to supporting the U.S. Army’s climate strategy to foster modernization and readiness across the force, “while seeking out solutions that offer a more secure, sustainable and cleaner future.” 

“GridStar Flow is designed to meet emerging, long-duration energy storage needs and bolster the necessary grid resilience to combat 21st century security challenges,” Jarvi said.

Lockheed Martin, ERDC-CERL and the U.S Army plan to break ground on the project at Fort Carson in the fall.

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