To address this critical energy need, the California Energy Commission recently awarded local startup DarmokTech and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) a grant of $2 million over three years to pursue recyclable, sodium polymer-based batteries. The technology aims to enhance cost-effective energy storage and grid reliability in the state and beyond. The collaboration is indicative of the type of public-private partnerships that develop as a result of technology transfer and the entrepreneurial programs run by LLNL’s Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO).