DOE's National Battery Leadership Strategy and the BattMan Accelerator: What You Need to Know

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released A National Strategy for American Leadership in Batteries (the Strategy) in October 2026, organized around three objectives and six pillars aimed at rebuilding the domestic battery supply chain and accelerating commercialization of next-generation battery technologies. This Holland & Knight alert provides an overview of the Strategy and a look at where DOE's attention, and potentially its funding, may be headed next.

The National Strategy at a Glance

Objectives

1. Mine-to-Market: Establish a Continuous Domestic Value Chain by 2030
2. Discovery-to-Deployment: Achieve Technology and Manufacturing Leadership by 2035
3. Enable affordable, safe and reliable storage applications for the American public

Strategic Pillars

1. Target investments in the upstream and midstream supply chain steps
2. Accelerate commercial deployment of laboratory discoveries. Advance manufacturing innovation
3. Prioritize manufacturing process innovation
4. Mission-driven deployment for grid modernization
5. Coordinate national strategy with international partners
6. Invest in American talent

A Full-Aperture View of the Supply Chain

The Strategy takes a full view of the battery value chain. DOE acknowledges that recent investment has clustered in downstream cell and pack manufacturing, while upstream and midstream capacity still require significant investment. Under the Mine-to-Market objective, DOE calls for a continuous domestic value chain spanning upstream mining, midstream refining and engineered materials, and downstream cells, packs and end products, supported by domestic offtake of extracted resources, subcomponents and capital equipment. One of the Strategy's pillars commits DOE to prioritizing investment specifically in extraction, refining, recycling and equipment manufacturing. That explicit focus on extraction and refining is notable: It marks a departure from DOE's more traditional posture of funding downstream manufacturing and applied research, giving upstream and midstream players a clear signal of where DOE intends to direct resources.

Closing the "Valley of Death"

DOE identifies a long-standing funding gap between mid-stage research and near-mature commercial manufacturing, a persistent "valley of death" for new discoveries. The Strategy prioritizes funding for pilot, demonstration and validation facilities. To accelerate adoption, DOE is building manufacturability, scalability and market potential into how it evaluates early-stage applied research, considering cost and repeatability alongside scientific merit. DOE is also prioritizing investment in manufacturing process innovation itself, including continuous processing, super intelligence (SI)-enabled quality control and digital twins to boost factory yields. The Strategy's consistent message is that innovation in what gets made must be matched by innovation in how it gets made.

Supporting the Grid Through Reliable Storage

Finally, DOE responds to the surging energy demand now facing the grid, driven in large part by data centers and SI infrastructure. DOE commits to supporting the acceleration of affordable, safe and reliable storage technologies to help the grid absorb that growth, including a portfolio of fast-responding and long-duration storage assets that can add capacity faster than traditional infrastructure, strengthen resilience against extreme weather and other disruptions, and remain cybersecure as they scale.

The BattMan Accelerator: Putting the Strategy into Practice

Alongside the Strategy, DOE highlighted the BattMan Accelerator, which is led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with co-directors from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Laboratory of the Rockies and Argonne National Laboratory.

BattMan provides end-to-end battery development capabilities, from advanced materials discovery and precursor development to pilot-scale materials processing, electrode manufacturing, cell prototyping and quality testing. It also supports workforce development through the University of Washington's I-BEAM certificate and master's degree programs.

Over time, BattMan aims to develop self-optimizing manufacturing systems that combine real-time process monitoring, SI, digital twins and closed-loop control to catch and correct manufacturing problems before they become costly scale-up failures. The consortium will also build industrial and academic partnerships to validate new manufacturing processes and accelerate deployment of commercially viable technologies.

What This Means for Funding and Engagement

Neither the Strategy nor the BattMan Accelerator comes with a corresponding notice of funding opportunity. Read together, however, the announcements make clear that battery technology, battery manufacturing and upstream material development are front of mind for DOE right now, and companies in those spaces should expect related funding opportunities to open over the next year, particularly around midstream supply chain gaps and manufacturing process innovation.

DOE has also been consistent in signaling that it wants industry and academic partners to use the national laboratories as a resource, including the technology and intellectual property the labs have developed as well as the labs themselves. Companies interested in future funding should strongly consider engaging with BattMan, the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub, Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC) or other national laboratory partnerships now, so those relationships are already in place when the next funding opportunity is announced.

Looking Ahead

DOE's Strategy and the BattMan Accelerator point to continued federal attention on battery supply chains and manufacturing. Companies operating anywhere along the value chain, from upstream mining and midstream materials to cell manufacturing and grid deployment, should begin conceptualizing projects now for the funding and partnership opportunities likely to follow.

Holland & Knight's Energy Technology Team regularly helps clients navigate DOE funding opportunities, structure national laboratory partnerships and position proposals to align with evolving federal priorities. If you have questions about engaging with BattMan or other DOE consortia, or about positioning your organization for upcoming battery and critical minerals funding, please reach out to the authors.

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