Brian Anderson, Ph.D.

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.