The Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Youngstown State University will collaborate on a potential $1 million project to establish a center in the Midwest region for training workers in the battery and electric vehicle manufacturing industry.
“We are in a period of tremendous advancement in battery technologies, presenting new opportunities for electric vehicles and energy storage systems,” said DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette.
DOE said Wednesday the Energy Storage Workforce Innovation Center will be built to develop skilled labor that can support “Voltage Valley,” the northeast portion of Ohio where a number of EV and battery companies intend to make investments.
The vehicle technologies and advanced manufacturing offices under DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will serve as project sponsors.
Development of the workforce development center supports the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, an effort by the department to accelerate battery production and commercialization.
"With these new technologies and growing industries, it is essential that we prepare a workforce that will lead the next generation of energy storage technologies into practice," Brouillette added.