A former race car engineer on battery safety and supply chains [partner content]

From his days as an IndyCar race engineer to his current role as chief product officer for a leading storage integrator, Tristan Doherty has always worked at the intersection of high performance and risk management. 

Today, he's applying that expertise at LG Energy Solution Vertech to build more resilient, domestically manufactured energy storage systems for America's evolving grid.

LG Energy Solution Vertech is the US energy storage division of LG Energy Solution, which has committed $1.4 billion to manufacture batteries in the U.S., creating a hub capable of producing 16.5 gigawatt-hours of energy storage cells annually. This investment is part of the company's long-term strategy to diversify supply chains.

"We're on schedule for early next year to be a hundred percent non-Chinese in terms of all of the components and sub-components going into those ESS cells,” says Doherty.

This manufacturing strategy is critical in a moment of trade uncertainty. While LG Energy Solution's substantial resources allow it to weather these challenges, smaller players in the supply chain face greater difficulties. "We're seeing projects that are being paused, that are being delayed. We're seeing suppliers that are rethinking their strategy...the goalposts are continually shifting."

Beyond manufacturing, LG Energy Solution has transformed its approach to system integration. Rather than simply connecting batteries to the grid, the company now designs comprehensive power solutions with grid needs as the starting point. Doherty describes this as "flipping the script" from an inside-out to an outside-in approach.

"The direction of design decisions and the direction of design intent has kind of flipped 180 degrees," he explains. "It's creating much more effective and much more powerful designs."

This evolution in design philosophy extends to safety considerations as well. Following incidents like the Moss Landing fire, the industry has increasingly shifted toward containerized solutions that compartmentalize risk. According to Doherty, this approach, combined with other innovations, has contributed to a 97% reduction in energy storage system failure rates.

As unprecedented demand growth from data centers, electrification, and manufacturing transforms the grid landscape, Doherty sees energy storage playing a central role. 

"We've made immense strides and we've figured out a whole lot of really interesting and fascinating ways of using batteries. But I think there's a whole bunch more to come."

This episode was produced in partnership with LG Energy Solution Vertech. LG Energy Solution Vertech is the U.S. energy storage division of LG Energy Solution, here to be your lifetime energy storage partner. Learn more about the company's approach to safety, performance, and its commitment to the U.S. market.