Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Program

The Long Duration Energy Storage Program sits under the California Energy Commission and funds large-scale demonstration and deployment of non-lithium-ion storage technologies in California. Total program funding is above $247 million, and the effort is aimed at moving emerging storage chemistries into the field. Awards in the recent rounds ranged from $8 million to $42 million for projects sized from 1 MW and 8 MWh up to 48 MWh. Eligible applicants include private companies, military installations, tribal organizations, and healthcare facilities, with priority for disadvantaged communities and California Native American tribes. The current cycle is between rounds, with no active funding opportunity open as of 2026. This is a deployment program, so applicants need a credible project site, a technology that can operate at duration, and a use case that matters to grid reliability or public facilities. Recent awards show the program backing large, concrete installations at Camp Pendleton, tribal sites, hospitals, and industrial facilities, which makes the bar less about lab novelty and more about operational readiness.

No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: One-off.