Brian J. Anderson, Ph.D., was named executive director of the
Biden Administration’s Interagency Working Group (IWG) on
Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization in
April 2021. In this role, Anderson strategically leverages national
laboratory resources and expertise to help ensure the shift to a
clean energy economy creates good-paying union jobs, spurs
economic revitalization, remediates environmental degradation
and supports energy workers in coal, oil and gas, and power
plant communities. Anderson led development of the IWG’s
initial report that included recommendations to catalyze robust
economic activity and support workers in America’s energy sector;
these recommendations are now driving revitalization efforts in
Appalachia and across the nation.
A longtime resident of West Virginia and a descendant of coal
miners, Anderson brings extensive expertise in regional innovation
and technology development for the energy sector. He has served
as Director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
since 2018, where he manages the complete NETL complex,
including delivery and execution of the Laboratory’s mission
and national programs in carbon-based energy and program
support to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Offices of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Electricity; and Cybersecurity,
Energy Security and Emergency Response. Under Anderson’s
leadership, NETL initiated critical technology development and
deployment projects including direct air capture technologies for
decarbonization, chemical looping combustion with potential to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and non-variable renewable
energy for future low-carbon power systems. Anderson earned
his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at West Virginia
University and his master’s and doctorate in chemical engineering
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
