NETL Director Brian Anderson, Ph.D., will present the keynote address “Paving the Way to a Decarbonized Energy Future” at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday, June 23, during the POWERGEN+ Series: The Future of Electricity.

“By undertaking a diverse mix of critical projects, NETL is leading efforts to meet the ambitious goals of the Biden Administration calling for a carbon emission-free electricity sector by 2035 and economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050,” Anderson said.

“I look forward to discussing the outstanding work we are completing with our partners in industry and at leading research universities as we prepare to undergo a historic energy evolution to achieve environmental sustainability, strengthen U.S. energy security and spur economic growth,” Anderson said.

Click here to register for Anderson’s virtual presentation.

As NETL director, Anderson leads the Lab’s more than 1,300 employees and guides more than 1,000 R&D projects in 50 states with a total award value of $5 billion. Under Anderson’s leadership, NETL has initiated technology development and deployment projects that include direct air capture technologies for decarbonization, chemical looping combustion with potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the incorporation of diverse energy sources, including renewable, nuclear and fossil with carbon capture, to more effectively provide environmental sustainability.

In April, Anderson took on additional responsibilities when he was named executive director of the Biden Administration’s Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization.  In this capacity, Anderson leads efforts to ensure the shift to a clean energy economy creates good-paying union jobs, spurs economic revitalization, remediates environmental degradation and supports energy workers in coal, oil and gas and power plant communities across the country.

“The work of the IWG will leverage technologies to capture carbon dioxide and convert it into the feedstock to make useful products, transforming a liability into an asset and creating good-paying job in manufacturing,” Anderson said.

NETL researchers are also exploring the potential of gasification and reforming technologies for carbon-neutral production of hydrogen, which can be used as a clean-burning fuel for electrical generation, manufacturing and transportation. Other NETL-supported technologies can extract rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal wastes to manufacture solar panels, electronics and a host of other consumer goods, creating additional opportunities to remediate legacy environmental impacts while creating new jobs in the affected coal and power plant communities.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory develops and demonstrates for commercialization advanced technologies that provide clean energy while safeguarding the environment. NETL’s work supports DOE’s mission to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy and environmental challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.