PNNL Opens the First Prismatic Battery Cell Line at a US National Lab, Targeting Sodium-Ion and LFP Grid Storage
The DOE's Grid Storage Launchpad has commissioned the first prismatic battery cell production line at a US national laboratory, starting with sodium-ion and LFP chemistries.
Overview
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Storage Launchpad has commissioned what it describes as the first prismatic battery cell production line at a U.S. national laboratory, according to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The line, housed at PNNL in Richland, Washington, will begin by producing and evaluating two chemistries aimed at grid-scale storage: sodium-ion and lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP).
The stated goal is to let researchers build, test, and demonstrate real-world prismatic cells at an industrially relevant scale, helping bridge the gap between laboratory science and commercial battery manufacturing, PNNL said.
What We Know
The new line fills a 1,400-square-foot laboratory with 16 pieces of equipment, and it is the first prismatic cell line at a national laboratory, according to PNNL. It sits inside the Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL), a 93,000-square-foot research facility at PNNL in Richland, Washington, as reported by Interesting Engineering.
Prismatic cells are rectangular and resemble larger nine-volt batteries, with a metal casing. According to Interesting Engineering, the shape allows efficient stacking, while the metal construction improves heat transfer and reduces the risk of overheating compared with cylindrical cells — properties that have made the format increasingly attractive for storing energy on the electric grid.
Mark Weller, a materials scientist and the line’s principal investigator, framed those physical traits in terms of cost and safety. “If you have better heat transport, if the cells are more mechanically uniform, if they’re packed more efficiently, all those things can translate to not just higher safety, but lower cost,” he told PNNL.
The line is funded by the DOE’s Office of Electricity and operated by the Grid Storage Launchpad, according to Mirage News. PNNL says the production line completed testing in February, per PNNL.
Why Scale Matters
The central value of the line is the jump from bench-scale samples to cells large enough to behave like commercial products. “Making a coin cell takes a few milligrams of material; making a prismatic cell takes at least a kilogram,” Weller said, according to PNNL. Working with kilogram-scale quantities of active material rather than milligrams lets researchers see whether a promising chemistry holds up on performance, reliability, and safety as it moves toward production.
Adam Jivelekas, operations manager of the Grid Storage Launchpad, said the capability is meant to serve outside groups as well as PNNL’s own scientists. “With the new prismatic line, we can create, test and demonstrate real-world prismatic cells at an industrially relevant scale,” he said, adding that the lab can “help external researchers or industry partners test and validate their prismatic cell designs,” according to PNNL.
The two starting chemistries reflect a broader industry shift away from nickel- and cobalt-heavy lithium cells. Sodium-ion draws on a far more abundant raw material than lithium, while LFP relies on iron, and both are central to the cost-reduction push in grid storage. The Machine Herald has tracked that shift as sodium-ion batteries reached the US grid in a pilot earlier this year and as CATL and HyperStrong signed a record 60 GWh sodium-ion deal.
The Facility Behind It
The prismatic line is the newest capability inside the Grid Storage Launchpad, a $75 million facility at PNNL in Richland, Washington, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE says the facility includes 30 research laboratories, some of them testing chambers that can assess prototypes under real-world grid operating conditions.
The GSL consolidates more than two dozen previously scattered battery research spaces into a single site, and its director, Vince Sprenkle, has described it as “an all-in-one research facility” where researchers can “do your materials research here, scale it up, create a system, and test it in a real environment,” according to PNNL. The same source says the facility can test systems up to 100 kW with capacities up to 400 kWh.
What We Don’t Know
PNNL has not disclosed a target production volume for the prismatic line, nor named the external partners it expects to work with. It is also not yet clear which specific sodium-ion or LFP formulations will be used in the first baseline runs, beyond the two chemistry families. Weller said the early work is meant to set a reference point: the team wants “these tests” to “establish a baseline” it can take to potential collaborators, according to PNNL.