Secretary of Energy Appoints New Members to Federal Advisory Committee to Reduce Emissions Across the Industrial Sector

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the appointment of 18 science, business, academic, and industry leaders to the Industrial Technology Innovation Advisory Committee (ITIAC) to help decarbonize America’s industrial sector. ITIAC is a federal advisory committee whose members will report directly to the Secretary of Energy with a comprehensive strategy to accelerate the development of technologies and processes that will reduce emissions across the U.S. industrial sector and move the nation closer to a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

Decarbonizing the industrial sector is key to tackling the climate crisis, as this vital sector is currently responsible for approximately one third of domestic, energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. This new advisory committee will convene a diverse group of stakeholders to tackle this urgent challenge with a multidimensional, all-hands-on-deck approach. ITIAC will help evaluate and develop the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) strategy for DOE’s Technologies for Industrial Emissions Reduction Development (TIEReD) Program, inform future investment opportunities and technical assistance programs, and help move decarbonization technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace. Committee members will also evaluate DOE’s department-wide decarbonization efforts, including initiatives that advance the two Energy Earthshots™ related to industrial decarbonization—the Clean Fuels & Products Shot™ and the Industrial Heat Shot™.

The new ITIAC members represent a cross-section of leaders in the U.S. industrial sector, including public and private entities, non-profit organizations, federal laboratories, labor groups, small- and large-scale industry, academia, and other federal government agencies. In developing recommendations, the committee will provide a wide range of community perspectives to ensure industrial decarbonization strategies will directly and equitably benefit the industrial workforce and surrounding communities, including those that have been historically marginalized and underserved.

The ITIAC members are: 

• Sharon Nolen, Chair of the ITIAC; Program Manager and Fellow, Eastman
• Cathy Choi, Vice President of Engineering & Chief Sustainability Officer, ClearFlame
• Sue Clark, Chief Research Officer & Deputy Laboratory Director, Science & Technology, Savannah River National Laboratory
• Subodh Das, CEO, Phinix, LLC
• Betsy Dutrow, Manager of ENERGY STAR Industrial Partnerships, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Neal Elliott, Director Emeritus, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
• Anna Fendley, Director of Regulatory and State Policy, United Steelworkers
• Comas Haynes, Faculty at Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology 
• Arun Majumdar, Chair of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board
• Eric Masanet, Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Joe Powell, Principal at ChemePD, LLC
• Pravina Raghavan, Director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Abigail Regitsky, Senior Manager, U.S. Policy and Advocacy, Breakthrough Energy
• Jeffrey Rissman, Senior Director, Industry, Energy Innovation
• Akshay Sahni, General Manager, Strategy and Technology, Chevron Technology Ventures
• Sridhar Seetharaman, Fulton Professor of Industrial Decarbonization and Chief Science Officer in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University
• Jolene Sheil, Portfolio Manager for Focus on Energy Program, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
• Sasha Stashwick, Director of Policy, Carbon180

The first meeting of the new ITIAC will be on March 21-22, 2024, and will have a public comment period. The most up-to-date information on how to virtually attend will be posted on the ITIAC website. There will also be a Federal Register notice announcing the first meeting. To learn more about ITIAC, visit the ITIAC website or contact [email protected].

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) will manage ITIAC. Learn more about IEDO and its mission to accelerate the innovation and adoption of cost-effective technologies that eliminate industrial greenhouse gas emissions.