This article discusses the upcoming changes in the electricity industry including electrification, and the drive toward fossil-free generation, and the role of energy storage (ES) in electrification and the operation of a future electric grid without fossil fuels. Though our discussion is primarily focused on the United States electricity system, the issues affecting the operation of future electric grids are global. While the United States is prototypical of other highly developed and energy-intensive countries, variations in renewable energy production and storage, end energy usage, market structure, and policy, among other factors, make each country somewhat unique.

The articles in this special issue focuses on energy storage technologies, with particular emphasis on batteries and energy conversion technologies and applications.

The articles in this special issue focus on the applications and use of energy storage products and services and assesses their economic value for the power system supply industry.

Redox flow batteries are well suited to provide modular and scalable energy storage systems for a wide range of energy storage applications. In this paper, we review the development of redox-flow-battery technology including recent advances in new redox active materials, cell designs, and systems, all from the perspective of engineers interested in applying this technology. We discuss cost, performance, and reliability metrics that are critical for deployment of large flow-battery systems. The technology, while relatively young, has the potential for significant improvement through reduced materials costs, improved energy efficiency, and significant reduction in the overall system costs.

Presents an introduction to a special issue of Proceedings of the IEEE. Flexible electronics is entering an exciting phase in the technology development cycle. After a decade of fundamental materials and device research, we are now witnessing the first major push toward commercialization. Productization requires device architectures and materials processes that are reliable and suitably qualified for high volume manufacturing. While the focus of the July issue of the Proceedings of the IEEE was on electronic systems and applications, the theme of the current issue is on materials and device technology, process development, and manufacturing technology. The fifteen papers in this issue provide a good overview of the status of flexible electronic materials and manufacturing technology.

Flexible, large area electronics - macroelectronics - using amorphous silicon, low-temperature polysilicon, or various organic and inorganic nanocrystalline semiconductor materials is beginning to show great promise. While much of the activity in macroelectronics has been display-centric, a number of applications where macroelectronics is needed to enable solutions that are otherwise not feasible are beginning to attract technical and/or commercial interest. In this paper, we discuss the application drivers and the technology needs and device performance requirements to enable high performance applications to include RF systems.

Provides an overview of the technical articles and features presented in this issue.