Illinois Investment in Argonne to Help Grow Advanced Battery Industry

The state of Illinois has begun fulfilling its commitment to building the Energy Innovation Center (EIC) on the campus of Argonne National Laboratory, State Senator Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) announced Thursday, with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s delivery of the first $1.25 million of the $5 million needed for initial planning and design.

The EIC would house the headquarters and primary research activities for the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), which was awarded $120 million from the U.S. Department of Energy in November to develop an energy storage research hub. 

“The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research is a public-private partnership of national laboratories, universities and industry. It’s bringing together leading scientists, engineers and manufacturers to develop clean energy storage technologies for hybrid-electric and electric vehicles and the electricity grid,” Senate Republican Leader Radogno said in a press release. “Once it is established, this project is sure to produce ground-breaking innovations.”

Last year Radogno pushed Senate Joint Resolution 53 to show the state’s support for Argonne’s proposal for the federally-funded project. Radogno also joined President Barack Obama – her former Illinois Senate colleague -- on his visit to Argonne last month.

Since then, the State of Illinois has committed $35 million to build the EIC, according to the Governor’s office. Construction of the 45,000-square-foot EIC would create between 400 and 450 jobs and house about 150 researchers in 18,000 square feet of office and meeting space and 27,000 square feet of lab space.

“The State of Illinois’ investment in the Energy Innovation Center underscores the importance of this new battery research initiative to our state and regional economy,” said Eric D. Isaacs, Director of Argonne. “With this new Energy Storage Hub, we are embarking on an historic, focused effort to transform our nation’s energy landscape, and we are grateful for the State’s partnership in this effort to make Illinois the heart of the advanced battery industry.”

State and federal investments in JCESR facilities and research underscore the importance that scientific innovation has on economic growth and job creation. Innovations made by JCESR have the potential to create thousands of skilled jobs for workers in Illinois and other parts of the country in the nascent, but high-growth advanced-battery sector, which is projected to expand in the next five to seven years from $10 billion to $50 billion internationally.   

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

There are plenty of ways to keep up on Lemont news:

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news email alerts

• Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take