NETL Director Brian Anderson hosted representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Energy Team at the Lab’s Pittsburgh site today where they discussed how NETL energy analysis expertise can help support the nation’s transition to a clean energy future. The group also toured several NETL facilities focused on developing decarbonization technologies.

Anderson welcomed Sally M. Benson, Ph.D., deputy director for OSTP Energy & chief strategist for the Energy Transition; Costa T. Samaras, Ph.D., principal assistant director for OSTP Energy; and Rachel L. Reolfi, energy policy assistant. The group joined other members of NETL leadership and researchers focused on the development of multi-scale approaches to modeling and analysis of energy technology, processes and markets — critical work for supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas economy by 2050.

“NETL has led the development of the most advanced open-source modeling and optimization platform in the world in collaboration with leading researchers at universities and other national laboratories. Through partnerships with industry, we have demonstrated our capabilities to inform complex decisions and reduce technical risk during scale up,” said NETL’s David C. Miller, Ph.D., who leads the Lab’s research in this area and joined in the discussion. “For example, our Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) addresses the challenge of optimizing the design and operation of our increasingly integrated, dynamic energy system. These advancements support the development and deployment of innovations needed to enable decarbonization of the energy and industrial sectors.” 

In addition, the group toured several laboratories to learn about how NETL is advancing carbon dioxide storage and subsurface engineering research, accelerating the deployment of carbon-free combustion technologies, monitoring seismicity at carbon storage sites, and using airborne technologies to locate legacy oil and gas infrastructure.  

“OSTP’s Energy team is focused on the same goals as our Lab — helping to decarbonize the planet, creating good-paying jobs and working toward a net-zero carbon nation,” Anderson said. “Their visit, and our free exchange of ideas, is an important step toward these goals.”

The mission of OSTP is to maximize the benefits of science and technology to advance health, prosperity, security, environmental quality and justice for all Americans. The Energy Team provides science and policy expertise on energy and net-zero emissions technologies and leads coordination on net-zero emissions innovation for the Biden-Harris Administration.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.