If successful, Ambri’s battery could greatly help renewables’ competitiveness vis a vis fossil fuels. But the development of the battery thus far is also a telling indication of the need for innovation in clean energy in general and how government can most effectively foster it. The need for better utility-scale energy storage technology tends to be overlooked by policymakers because the go-to policy of deployment subsidization for existing technologies simply doesn’t apply, as nothing like the Ambri battery even existed until recently because of key investments through ARPA-E and others. Any new national energy policy should reflect the realities of innovation stories like Ambri’s to get the investment and policies right.