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Federal Research Environment for the
Department of Energy
A Presentation to UC Riverside
Michael Ledford
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC
January 2014
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC is a leading full-service government
relations firm specializing in advocating for the public policy
interests of institutions of higher education and other research
and education organizations
• Began working with UC Riverside in November 2012
• 23 professional staff members
• 26 clients, all nonprofits involved in research and/or education
– 15 universities
– 3 contractors running national research facilities
– 8 associations
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Department of Energy
• New Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz proposes reorganizing DOE and is
pushing to fill vacancies in political jobs, including a consolidated Under
Secretary for Science and Energy and the Director of the Office of Science
• Energy research is a key priority of the Obama Administration to advance
policy goals (energy security and independence, climate change, advanced
manufacturing, sustainability, and innovation)
• Discovery science, such as HEP, Nuclear Physics, and Fusion, must
compete for funding with ASCR, BES, and BER, which support these goals
• The DOE Office of Science budget has also been squeezed by the Obama
Administration’s creation of new innovation models – the Energy
Innovation Hubs, Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), and ARPA-E
• The Office of Science must also compete with DOE clean energy programs
as the President proposes significant new investments in Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy (EERE) technology programs
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Research Roadmaps
• DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences has published a series of Basic
Research Needs workshop reports that continue to inform funding
opportunities across the DOE complex, including the Office of Science
(http://science.energy.gov/bes/news-and-resources/reports/)
• Program offices within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy have published roadmaps or reports to outline the research
questions for its field – wind energy; solar; biomass/bioenergy; fuel cells;
geothermal; technology offices for industrial, buildings and vehicles focus
on key research areas to advance technology commercialization
• ARPA-E hosts invitation only workshops, issues Requests for Information,
and occasional open calls for proposals to inform new research programs
• As a mission agency, DOE needs to know you and your research; it is
important to participate in RFIs, submit white papers in response to
funding opportunities, and be invited to, and participate in, workshops
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DOE Office of Science
FY 2013
Enacted
FY 2014 Request
DOE, total
27,043,427
28,953,893
Science
4,876,000
5,152,752
440,825
465,593
1,689,495
1,862,411
Biological and Environmental
Research
Fusion Energy Sciences
Program
High-energy Physics
610,196
625,347
401,108
458,324
789,595
776,521
Nuclear Physics
548,537
569,938
18,451
16,500
111,503
97,818
Advanced Scientific
Computing Research
Basic Energy Sciences
Workforce Development for
Teachers and Scientists
Science Laboratories
Infrastructure
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FY 2014 Senate
Subcom Mark
(vs. FY 2013)
28,209,862
(4.3%)
5,152,752
(5.7%)
493,773
(12.0%)
1,805,162
(6.9%)
625,347
(2.3%)
458,324
(14.3%)
806,590
(2.2%)
569,938
(4.0%)
16,500
(-10.6%)
FY 2014 House
Cmte Mark
(vs. FY 2013)
24,952,252
(-7.8%)
4,653,000
(-4.6%)
432,365
(-1.9%)
1,583,099
(-6.3%)
494,106
(-19.0%)
506,076
(26.2%)
772,521
(-2.2%)
551,953
(0.6%)
16,500
(-10.5%)
97,818
(-12.3%)
46,558
(-58.3%)
Office of Science Programs
• ASCR – Priority for Secretary Moniz is to pursue exascale computing and
data-intensive science, which will require collaboration among application
programmers, computer scientists, and hardware designers (see March
2013 report on Synergistic Challenges in Data-Intensive Science and
Exascale Computing)
• BES – Has led Obama Administration innovation initiatives, hosting two
Energy Innovation Hubs and funding the EFRCs. User facilities have been
important part of Administration’s emphasis on public-private
partnerships for technology innovation. Emphasizes materials science and
techniques to engineer and control chemical, geological and biochemical
processes to develop new clean energy technologies
• BER – Continues to support three Bioenergy Research Centers. Climate
modeling areas of focus include the tropics and Arctic and new
observations of clouds, aerosols, and sensitive ecosystems. Congressional
Republicans regularly aim to reduce funding for BER due to its climate
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change function.
Office of Science (cont.)
• High Energy Physics -- DOE Office of High Energy Physics (HEP) is in a
holding pattern as the community undertakes a new strategic planning
process through P5, which is scheduled to report by May 1
• Nuclear Physics – As with BES and HEP, NP community went through a
major strategic planning exercise to direct future research; report has
been well received and has community buy-in
– Research fits with DOE emphasis on developing techniques to manipulate
matter at the atomic level to create new materials and techniques to
make advances in technology development
• Fusion Energy Sciences – U.S. commitment to the ITER (International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project in France has squeezed the
Office of Science budget and domestic fusion facilities. Administration
continues to grapple with this funding demand
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High Energy Physics
• The FY 2015 budget request will be submitted before the final P5 report is
released and the community can respond, making it unlikely that the
Administration will propose major new programs
• FY 2015 budget will resubmit new starts that have been delayed by
funding under Continuing Resolutions
• At the December HEPAP meeting, Dr. Pat Dehmer called out two major
demands in the HEP program -- interest in pursuing the Long Baseline
Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) and the upgrades to the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) in the 2017-2018 period
• In a charge to the Office of Science from OMB to assess all facilities in
order to develop a ten-year prioritization plan across the Office overall,
Dr. Dehmer said HEP stood out with the potential big funding wedge
• Her message was that P5 and the HEP community have a very significant
challenge in developing a program plan within anticipated budgets
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HEP Update
• At HEPAP, Jim Siegrist pointed to the exciting new results invigorating HEP
– the discovery of the Higgs; the theta 1-3 measurement for neutrinos;
advances in dark matter detection; and advanced accelerator R&D
• Challenges – ramping down existing projects and research to invest in new
projects only to be caught in sequestration (LBNE; LHC detector upgrades;
2nd generation Dark Matter detectors), and a Continuing Resolution
delaying new starts (LSST; Muon g-2; Belle II)
• With budget agreement and a likely FY 2014 omnibus appropriations bill,
some of these issues will be addressed
• FY 2014 President’s budget request and the House and Senate
appropriations recommendations for HEP are all above the FY 2013 postsequester level
• There will be continued tensions within DOE in allocating funding among
programs within the Office of Science and with EERE and ARPA-E
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Update on HEP Comparative Reviews
• DOE received 134 applications for funding among six HEP subprograms:
intensity frontier (26 proposals); HEP Theory (33); Accelerator Science and
Technology R&D (31); Particle Detector R&D (14); energy frontier (20);
and cosmic frontier (28); review panels met in mid-November
• DOE used the new Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS)
• Panels assessed merits of senior investigators; scientific/technical merit of
project; proposed method; competency of research team/adequacy of
resources; reasonableness of budget; relevance to OHEP mission
• PIs receive guidance and funding levels in mid-January with funded grants
to begin about May 1
• DOE will transition to full-funding of multi-year grants and cooperative
agreements from universities with a total cost of less than $1 million
• Full funding will be obligated for those grants at the time of the award
with continued annual performance reviews/reports prior to receiving
next-year funding
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ARPA-E
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ARPA-E has received bipartisan support in the Congress with its emphasis on
supporting high-risk, high-reward R&D leading to new energy technologies
With an annual budget of about $300 million, ARPA-E has focused on two major
sectors – transportation and large-scale energy storage
Programs are developed through workshops (invitation only); Requests for
Information (RFIs) to the community on specific topics; and occasionally through
an open call for innovative proposals
ARPA-E provides teaming opportunities, asking researchers to volunteer to team
on specific funding opportunities; universities have done very well competing for
ARPA-E funding
Annual Energy Innovation Summit is scheduled in Washington on February 24-26;
great networking opportunity with ARPA-E program managers and other federal
agency research program officers (http://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=photo/2014-arpae-energy-innovation-summit-infographic)
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE)
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DOE technology programs through EERE have been a high priority for President
Obama to create clean, renewable energy technologies, save energy, and develop
sustainable transportation
Funded at about $2 billion annually, these applied technology programs are often
geared toward partnerships with business and industry to collaborate on the
creation of new, commercially competitive energy technologies
Programs are generally open to universities, but preponderance of EERE funding is
awarded to business and industry; requires cost-sharing (20 percent R&D and up
to 50 percent demonstration and deployment); seek private sector partners
Universities participate in the solar decathlon and have been funded through the
Sunshot program seeking to make solar cost competitive
Universities have successfully sought funding through the wind energy program,
now focused on developing offshore wind energy; also funds workforce training
Potential power sources from Geothermal energy and Marine and Hydrokinetic
are newer renewable resources under investigation by EERE
EERE also has the lead on hydrogen and fuel cell applied technologies
EERE (cont.)
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Advanced Manufacturing program has been reoriented to Administration priority
of reinvigorating U.S. manufacturing and improving energy consumption and
other manufacturing processes
This office is part of the President’s NNMI (National Network for Manufacturing
Innovation), and also supports the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership and
Innovative Manufacturing Initiative – emphasis on public-private partnerships
Vehicles Technologies continue to focus on developing and deploying advanced
vehicle technologies, including electric vehicles (President’s EV Everywhere Grand
Challenge)
This program also focuses on engine efficiency; batteries and energy storage ;
power electronics; and lightweight materials; goal is to reduce fuel usage and
reduce GHG emissions to tackle climate change
EERE is lead DOE office to develop bioenergy sources, including algal biofuels.
DOE takes lead on the bioenergy chain, including feedstock supply and logistics,
conversion technologies, sustainability, and supports biorefinery pilot and
demonstration projects
National Nuclear Security Administration
• NNSA’s primary mission is to secure and modernize the nation’s nuclear
stockpile, maintain its deterrent capability, secure vulnerable nuclear
materials, and carry out nuclear non-proliferation activities.
• NNSA supports university researchers to help train the nuclear workforce
needed at its national labs
• The Stewardship Science Academic Alliances Program funds university
research in areas important to the NNSA mission, especially stockpile
stewardship
• These areas include materials under extreme conditions (condensed
matter physics and materials science, hydrodynamics, and fluid
dynamics); low energy nuclear science; radiochemistry; and high energy
density physics
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Looking Ahead
• Universities have to adjust to changing science bureaucracy in a flat
budget environment
• R&D and basic research still a TOP priority on both sides of the aisle
in Congress, but there is competition for limited dollars
• Public-private partnerships will remain the favored mechanism for
large-scale efforts
• Increased compliance burden continues
• Advisory committees still key to determining and influencing agency
policy and research directions
• Traditional research funding agencies are placing an increased
emphasis on cooperative agreements (with shared milestones) for
new initiatives
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Contact
Kaitlin Chell
Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
1341 G Street, NW
Eighth Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
e: kaitlin@lewis-burke.com
p: 202.289.7475
f: 202.289.7454
www.lewis-burke.com
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