During his two decades at NETL, William Fincham, a federal project manager, has pursued three passions: a love for technology development through the nurturing of external partnerships, musicianship and an enthusiastic regard for architecture and local history.

Fincham grew up in Farmington, West Virginia, and earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Fairmont State University. He first came to NETL as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education student in May 1999. Since his arrival at NETL, his work portfolio has been varied and voluminous. He has overseen and provided technical support to projects associated with exploration and production of oil and natural gas technologies (both onshore and offshore), methane hydrates exploration and production, and fossil energy infrastructure. Fincham has also led the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) natural gas and oil programs.

During that time, Fincham has cultivated an active interest in local history and architecture of the and kept up his active off hours life as a musician.

But during his working hours, Fincham and NETL are laboring to attain the Administration’s goals of achieving a net-zero carbon emissions energy sector by 2030 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050 through robust technology development.

“NETL’s Resource Sustainability program has produced multiple technologies over the past decade that are having a positive impact in the oil and gas industry,” Fincham said. “One other key take away is that two technologies that I have managed have successfully crossed over for use in other energy related areas: geothermal production and carbon capture and storage (CCS).”

He said his work has also shown great promise for the hydrogen, water and carbon dioxide transmission.

He worked with Oceanit, through an award under the SBIR program that is incorporating hydrogen embrittlement inhibition into the DragX pipeline coating/surface treatment technology developed under a previous NETL award he managed. It’s work that can make moving gases and water through America’s network of pipelines. Oceanit is already working with regional and global pipeline gas companies.

Fincham was instrumental in moving Oceanit’s DragX nanocomposite surface treatment from a lab-scale technology to a commercial product capable of treating pipelines for corrosion resistance and reduction of internal drag. Beyond the already field-demonstrated applications, this innovative nanocomposite surface treatment has the potential to be the backbone for water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen transporting pipeline infrastructure.

Fincham said he believes the collaboration between NETL and Oceanit has been a prime example of how an effective public-private partnership can work for broader societal benefit. NETL works closely with industry partners to accelerate the development and commercialization of needed technology to ensure reliable supplies of energy for the nation.

“The U.S. Department of Energy has been an incredible partner, mitigating risk to bring disruption to enable the energy industry to competitively transition into the future,” said Patrick Sullivan, chief executive officer and founder of Oceanit. “What is very notable in the success of the program is the contribution of the human interaction role from Bill Fincham, project manager for this effort. Fincham was pivotal in building the synergistic relationship between Oceanit, government and private sector end users. The ability to apply and adapt to many kinds of pipelines was especially important in allowing for the program to continue with little interruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Meanwhile, in his off hours, Fincham pursues his other creative interests, which includes historic homes. He currently lives in an intact Shingle Victorian home built in 1906 by A.B. Fleming, the 8th governor of West Virginia. His other passion is music and he fills the rooms and halls of his historic home most every day with melodies picked out on the guitar.

“I have been a musician most of my life, and over the last 30 my main outlet has been the guitar,” he said. “Playing my guitar has been my main stress reliever and I try to play for a while each day after work. I find that this prepares me for the remainder of my evening especially after a full day of focus as a project manager or work associated with my duties with the SBIR/STTR program.”

In his 20 plus years with the Lab, Fincham said NETL’s staff have been a source of encouragement and inspiration from day one.

“At every stop along the way I’ve had one ongoing observation,” he said. “NETL is full of the most dedicated, intelligent and kindhearted people and I couldn’t image working anywhere else.  “Some of my proudest moments have been working to meet a goal with a team and seeing that goal accomplished, whether it be troubleshooting a new circuit in my old lab or completing a proposal review and watching the selected awards have success and help meet our program goals. I continue to find moments to be proud of alongside my coworkers and management.”