Profiles in Leadership: Dr. Julio Friedmann, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy

This is the second issue of Profiles in Leadership, a series of interviews with senior executives in the Office of Fossil Energy (FE).  In this edition we talk to Dr. Julio Friedmann, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy.

What do you do in your role in the Office of Fossil Energy?

As a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary [PDAS], I see my role in a couple of different ways. First, I oversee the research and development portfolio for oil and gas as well as clean coal. In terms of strategic vision, that’s part of my role.

I have a personnel and management role, I see myself as managing the operations of Fossil Energy. That includes health and safety, budget process, all of these things together.

There are a few international initiatives that are important for me to maintain and provide focus on, most notably the ongoing work in China. They’re the world’s largest consumer of fossil energy. For us to meet climate targets and create the necessary technologies in this space, it’s all about China.  I feel very fortunate that the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, our International Affairs office, realize and value China’s importance as a partner, both in science and technology as well as in commercialization of clean technologies. I’m very pleased and proud to be able to support that.

What is an average day for you?

Long. I’m typically in the office before eight a.m. and will be working until eight or nine at night. It’s an awful lot of meetings.

My schedule gets pulled around a lot. I often walk in and think I have a schedule and it’s all changed. There are times when I have a lot of travel and times when I have none. But I’m pleased to be able to accomplish as much as I do.

What is the most exciting thing on the horizon for fossil fuels and its technologies?

There are many ways to answer that. From a purely technological perspective, I find the advances in additive manufacturing and 3D printing to be incredibly exciting and something I’m glad to see the Oil and Gas Program and Coal Program begin to enter.

From an impact perspective, the increased adoption and deployment of carbon capture and storage is not only on the horizon but is also the most impactful and interesting thing…and in that context, finally seeing deployment is very exciting.

From a global perspective, it’s the shift to a multinational framework. The globalization of our mission is very exciting and required for success to be useful and impactful in the area of fossil fuels.

That mission has evolved over the past ten years away from “how do we increase production of oil and gas” to “how do we manage the abundance of oil and gas” specifically around environmentally prudent development. As the economies have shifted, we have recast our mission increasingly in terms of delivering technologies that are of environmental value, and focus on those things that help the public directly, which industry might not do itself.

What is the one thing you would most like to tell the world about FE?

The one thing I would tell the world is that the technologies that we develop here create the substrate on which policy decisions are made. Our programs advise policymakers on what is possible when, and how clean and how good these technologies can be.

Many people believe it works the other way: that a policy decision leads to a technology development.  What I would tell people is that it is largely the other way around, and that technology success helps enable the policy decision.

Tell us something about yourself that isn't on the corporate bio.

I’m a professionally trained composer, and I was in a Shakespeare troupe for four years. I’m also an Eagle Scout. My interest in a wide set of topics outside of science and government—interest in the arts and how human beings interact and how to serve—all reinforce each other.  The richness of that experience is part of what makes life fun.