[MIT x ENGIE CONFERENCE] “Energy Beyond Limits: The Future of Long Duration Storage”

Achieving a deeply decarbonized power grid will require energy storage technologies that can reliably bridge prolonged periods of low renewable generation—often lasting 8 hours or more—while remaining cost-effective, durable, and scalable. 

Professor Fikile R. Brushett will explore the landscape of Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES), focusing on electrochemical solutions that extend beyond traditional short-duration battery technologies. 

His talk will survey promising pathways such as redox flow batteries and hybrid electrochemical storage systems, discussing fundamental design principles, material challenges, and techno-economic considerations that determine performance, lifetime, and system cost. 

Emphasis will be placed on how linking materials and reactor level insights to system level targets can accelerate the development of LDES technologies capable of supporting 24/7 renewable power and grid resilience in the coming decades.

Biography 

Fikile R. Brushett is the Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he leads research at the intersection of electrochemical energy storage and sustainable energy technologies.

His work advances the fundamental science and engineering of electrochemical systems—such as redox flow batteries—aimed at enabling affordable, scalable, and long-lived energy storage for a low-carbon future. His research integrates synthesis and characterization of redox-active materials, reactor design, and techno-economic modeling to connect basic science with real-world performance and cost goals.

Prof. Fikile R. Brushett his B.S.E. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in electrochemical energy storage at Argonne National Laboratory before joining MIT’s faculty in 2013, where he has since become a globally recognized leader in energy storage science. His group’s work addresses critical challenges in grid-scale storage, sustainable power delivery, and the integration of renewable energy.

About Long duration energy storage (LDES)

LDES refers to energy storage systems capable of delivering electricity for extended periods, typically 10 hours or more, and is essential for integrating renewable energy and ensuring grid reliability. LDES encompasses various technologies, including:

• Pumped Hydro Storage: Utilizes gravitational potential energy by pumping water to a higher elevation and releasing it to generate electricity.
• Thermal Storage: Stores heat energy for later use, often in concentrated solar power systems.
• Mechanical Storage: Includes technologies like flywheels and compressed air energy storage
• Electrochemical Storage: Involves flow batteries and other battery technologies designed for long-duration applications.