How to unleash American energy dominance financing to win on Energy and AI

Jeremy Harrell, Drew Bond, and Zach Graves wrote in the Washington Reporter about American energy dominance and the establishment of the new Energy Dominance Financing Program.

American leadership in reliable, affordable and abundant energy is non-negotiable for our national security, economic growth and global competitiveness. Today, this leadership is at risk. While domestic energy demand surges, our adversaries — led by China, the world’s dominant energy financier — are outpacing us in investments in innovative R&D and critical infrastructure. To win this competition, the federal government must enable the U.S. energy sector to compete in technology areas where the financial risk is too high for the private sector to bear alone. One of the U.S. government’s more powerful tools is loan guarantees.

History shows this approach works. Federally sponsored partnerships with industry have sparked major technology advancements that are foundational to our defense and economy. In fact, a study from Commonweal Ventures found that, between 2003 and 2023, government expenditures catalyzed nearly a quarter of all venture-backed companies that ultimately achieved a valuation of $1 billion or more. This strategic public investment is why key programs, such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), are necessary: they bridge the critical “bankability gap” that impedes the deployment of transformational technologies.

Read more in The Washington Reporter here.