Robert Rozansky

Innovation in renewable energy technologies, tapping solar, wind, geothermal, and water resources, could unlock massive decarbonization opportunities. But it will not happen without increased, sustained, and well-targeted federal investments.

The president-elect’s overall approach to technology and innovation policy appears to be formulated to engage the government as an active partner alongside industry in spurring innovation—but also as a tougher regulator of many tech industries and technologies.

Gene editing’s enormous promise for solving societal problems, including climate change, has been slowed by concerns that it is neither natural nor safe.

Tech policy broadly defined becomes more important each presidential election, and this one is no different. As it has in every cycle since 2008, ITIF provides a side-by-side comparison of the nominees’ positions on key issues related to the progress of technological innovation.

Recent advances in gene editing offer promising opportunities to mitigate emissions from agriculture and other sectors, and to capture carbon from the atmosphere. Governments should accelerate the development and deployment of these solutions.

When the world’s first carbon capture facility on a coal-fired power plant came online in Texas in 2017, it was touted as a big step toward transforming the dirtiest fossil fuel into a low-carbon power resource. Now, it’s been labeled “a nightmare for unsuspecting investors” and a “warning sign” for the industry. What happened?

Demonstrating the commercial viability of new technologies for deep decarbonization requires federal funding. But the government’s past record is decidedly mixed. So Congress should increase funding for demonstration projects while reforming how they are administered.

Geothermal energy has yet to follow the trajectory of rapidly expanding, cheap renewables like wind and solar. To unlock the enormous potential of this clean, reliable source of energy, the federal government can drive innovation and address barriers to adoption.

To realize their full potential, small start-up companies must cross the so-called “valley of death”—that precarious stage when their technologies are not yet perfected, investors are still skittish, and customers are scarce. There is a federal program devoted to helping them make this passage: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have released a framework for legislation that sets the bold goal of transitioning to net-zero emissions by 2050, taking a much-needed comprehensive approach to all sources of emissions within the committee’s jurisdiction. It is imperative that Congress now take additional steps to accelerate innovation in new clean energy technologies.

The National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on high-growth startups and commercializing federally funded research and development (R&D). Other federal agencies should consider emulating this model.