A new blueprint to guide industry and academia partnerships in developing next-gen battery technologies in America has been launched by the federal government.

The US energy department’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation unveiled its strategy for American leadership in batteries on October 27 — alongside the Battery Manufacturing Accelerator (BattMan) Consortium, led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL),

The strategy set out the energy department’s priorities to build a fully integrated domestic battery supply chain by 2030, achieve “US leadership in battery technology and manufacturing by 2035”, and accelerate the commercialisation of safe, affordable, and reliable energy-storage solutions.

Meanwhile, BattMan will focus on lowering manufacturing costs, speeding the transition of novel battery technologies from laboratory discovery to manufacturing deployment, and boosting US leadership in energy storage manufacturing.

PNNL is a member of Battery Council International, which praised the US national lab’s work in connecting other national labs, industry and universities on next-gen battery technologies. “BCI applauds these efforts that line up closely with what our members do every day,” the trade body said.

BattMan will harness super intelligence and advanced manufacturing capabilities to identify challenges earlier and improve production processes.

The accelerator will also strengthen critical mineral supply chains by advancing battery materials made from more abundant domestic elements.

Assistant US energy secretary Audrey Robertson said: “The advances we make today in battery manufacturing technology will determine America’s energy security and economic competitiveness for decades to come.

“The Battery Manufacturing Accelerator will fast track commercialisation, strengthen domestic supply chains and help ensure that innovative domestic manufacturing is used for the next generation of battery technologies.”

PNNL won BCI’s annual innovation award in 2025 for its Grid Storage Launchpad, a new US national capability for speeding up energy storage research.

Also last year, BCI hosted the inaugural Flow Batteries North America conference in partnership with PNNL.

Earlier this year, South Korea’s Energy Tech Solution installed a prismatic battery assembly line at PNNL.