The North Carolina Collaboratory and Innovate Carolina’s UNC Institute for Convergent Science published a report outlining the importance and feasibility of energy storage as existing energy needs and technologies shift.
The energy sector faces multiple challenges in the years ahead.
North Carolina is experiencing robust population growth — an average of 9.5% between 2010 and 2020. Meanwhile, the increased use of electric vehicles and artificial intelligence requires extra electricity per capita. In the midst of growing energy needs, Duke Energy, the state’s largest electricity provider, plans to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2050.
In 2023, the North Carolina Collaboratory, housed at UNC-Chapel Hill, received $15 million from the North Carolina General Assembly to establish a research program focused on reliably and sustainably meeting the state’s future energy needs. The Next Generation…


