Breaking into the energy storage industry

The energy storage industry is fast growing and the growth rate is only expected to increase. This presents a great opportunity for those interested in having a direct impact on the energy transition. If you are a student or a recent graduate in this endeavor, you must be wondering: how does one join this fulfiling workforce? If you are facing this predicament you are in luck as this article provides tips and resources on how to navigate it. I navigated this process 4 years ago thus I fully understand and empathize with the nuances and complexity of the process.

Introduction

For over a century, batteries have been crucial to inventions that have improved the quality of life of humanity. Here are some battery highlights to demonstrate the technology’s significance:

1. Lead-Acid batteries (LABs) have been serving the starting, light and ignition (SLI) role in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles for over a century. LABs have also been deployed in industrial applications including stationary storage.

2. Nickel-Cadmium batteries have been utilized in both ICE vehicles and hybrid vehicles for SLI and electric mode applications, respectively.

3. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) facilitated the proliferation of consumer electronics such as mobile phones, laptops and wireless headphones. LIBs have also been the backbone of electric mobility and utility-scale stationary storage.

The energy transition is currently driving the growth of demand and manufacturing capacity for various energy storage technologies. The global demand for batteries is expected to grow from 0.185 TWh in 2020 to 2 TWh in 2030. Simultaneously, the global manufacturing capacity of batteries is expected to increase from 2.5 TWh in 2024 to 9 TWh in 2030 (surprisingly more than 4 times the projected growth in demand!). LABs and LIBs are the most deployed battery technologies today and will remain the clear option for mobility and consumer electronics applications in the near future. It is well understood that other emerging battery and non-battery storage technologies will be better suited for some applications thus their demand will also grow significantly.

Opportunities galore

To meet the unprecedented growth in both manufacturing and demand, both public and private sectors are investing heavily in developing a skilled workforce to support the nascent energy storage industry. The objective of this article is to highlight some of the opportunities available to students and recent graduates looking to break into the industry. Entry-level jobs offer the path of least resistance to enter the workforce. However, such opportunities are limited and tend to require some experience given the low maturity of the industry. That said, do not despair as the author has identified 4 main paths to obtaining valuable (paid!) experience that can be leveraged in landing a full-time job later: internships, co-ops, fellowships and rotational programs. These opportunity types are available to associate, undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, postdoctoral and post-graduate candidates each with its own eligibility requirements. The opportunities fall in 2 main categories:

1. Research: The Department of Energy offers clean energy opportunities through these 18 national laboratories.

2. Industry: The main actors here include battery manufacturers, energy storage project developers and utilities with energy storage exposure.

This tracker presents currently active opportunities for 2025 and shall be updated frequently as new opportunities emerge. The spreadsheet currently includes several national research labs, ESS manufacturers, developers and utilities in North America. A future version of the sheet shall extend to regions outside of North America. The spreadsheet provides details such as opportunity type, immigration status (citizenship/permanent residency) requirement, educational level requirement, application deadline and link.

You will notice that the opportunities listed therein are not specific to energy storage but cover clean energy broadly. This is intentional as experience in any clean energy technology is often considered transferable for entry-level full time roles. That said, I would still prioritize energy storage opportunities if this is the industry you are ultimately interested in.

Conclusion

As this article is a guide on how to position oneself for full time employment opportunities in the industry, it would be incomplete if I failed to mention one more detail. Being in the know of available opportunities is half the equation. Effective networking comes in handy in securing an interview and the job you are eyeing. If you have questions or insights on early-stage opportunities in the clean energy sector, please reach out to me via email at [email protected]. As always, thank you for reading and feel free to share with colleagues and friends!