NETL Director Brian J. Anderson, Ph.D., joined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) leaders in Washington, D.C., today to formally launch the Lab’s 10-year partnership with ExxonMobil and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Per agreements announced May 8, ExxonMobil is investing up to $100 million in cooperative research and development endeavors to advance groundbreaking low-emissions energy technologies toward commercial scale. Anderson, NREL Director Martin Keller and ExxonMobil Vice President of Research & Development Vijay Swarup signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) and supporting agreements to execute the partnership during a public ceremony at the Forrestal Building, home of DOE headquarters.

DOE Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes, DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg and DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Daniel Simmons were also on hand for the ceremonial signing, which marks one of the largest public-private partnerships between DOE laboratories and the private sector to date.

“This agreement demonstrates DOE’s commitment to results-driven research initiatives that span multiple sectors for maximum benefit,” Menezes said. “Public-private partnerships maximize research and development to accelerate deployment of innovative, economical and lower-emission technologies from DOE’s national labs.”

Winberg noted that the Office of Fossil Energy has a strong history of working with industry — including ExxonMobil — to achieve success.

“Collaboration with industry is indispensable to the continued development of critical pathways to expand our economy, pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy and fulfill our commitment to being responsible stewards of the environment,” Winberg said.

Anderson said that the combined expertise and capabilities of ExxonMobil, NREL and NETL will contribute to the development of technological breakthroughs that have a global impact.

“Our shared goal is to develop innovative technologies that contribute to solving the dual challenge of delivering low-cost energy with lower carbon emissions. These technologies will mitigate the carbon generated through safe and cost-effective means or make advanced energy systems more efficient, so they use less fuel and generate fewer emissions,” he said. “This opportunity targets research challenges and the development of technology central to NETL’s mission as the nation’s premier fossil-energy science and engineering resource.”

NETL strives to discover, integrate, and mature technology solutions to enhance the nation’s energy foundation and protect the environment for future generations. ExxonMobil’s investment will enable the Lab to expand key research programs tied to the agreement — including carbon capture and storage, carbon dioxide utilization, enhanced oil recovery, oil and gas and more. To learn more about the agreement, click here.