What We’re Tracking
The Energy Innovation Project is summarizing recent science and energy innovation activities at the U.S. Department of Energy and what might be coming in 2026.
Authors: Katelyn O’Dell Dean and Akhila Mullapudi
Contributor: Addy Smith, Federation of American Scientists
EFI Foundation built the Energy Innovation Project with our partners to track U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding for science and energy innovation and provide a platform for analyzing how federal funding translates to impact.
The public database goes back to fiscal year 2017 and covers spending (e.g., annual appropriations and obligations), projects, and staffing across 15 science and energy innovation offices at DOE. The Trump administration inherited billions for energy innovation from the Biden administration, which struggled to spend the significant influx of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, in part due to insufficient staff levels.
Little of the inherited funding flowed out the door in the Trump administration’s first year and 2025 became a tumultuous year for energy innovators.
A Change in Course
In 2026, it seems DOE is changing course. The first few months of the year show a clear shift in the Trump administration’s science and energy innovation strategy. We’re tracking several key indicators of DOE’s efforts to move money to the private sector:
- Spending activities: Funding and award announcements in Q1 of 2026 already exceeded totals across the entirety of 2025 by 42% and 120%, respectively (Figure 1 and Table 1).
- Project movement: DOE announced plans to retain nearly 2,000 awards, a stark contrast to 2025 cancellations (Figure 2).
- Staff capacity: DOE quarterly hiring rates were 3.8 times higher in Q1 of 2026 compared to 2025. The White House requested increased staff in several DOE science and energy innovation offices after historic reductions in 2025 (Figure 3).
Spending Activities
After the first quarter of 2026, DOE has already outspent all of 2025 both in terms of funding opportunity announcements and award selections. Additional award selections for half of the $5.8 billion in new funding opportunities are also expected by the end of this calendar year.
Table 1. Spending Activities at DOE, Jan 2025 – March 2026
| 2025 (Jan 20 – Dec 31) | 2026 (Jan 1 – March 31) | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of new funding opportunities announced | 14 | 14 |
| Number of awards selected | 25 | 12 |
| Total value of funding opportunities announced | $2.29 billion | $3.52 billion |
| Total value of awards made | $0.84 billion | $3.34 billion |
Figure 1
However, obligation totals have not followed the same trend. The slow rate of obligations is likely impacted by historically low staff levels at the department. Throughout 2026, the Energy Innovation Project will be tracking obligations and staffing in DOE’s science and energy innovation offices.
Project Movement
“We are keen to move forward with the majority of projects.” –
Chris Wright to the House Appropriations Subcommittee, April 2026
Figure 2
On April 15, Secretary Wright reported to Congress that 1,951 Biden-era awards were being unfrozen or—in the case of a few—uncanceled. In total, retained awards represent $17.1 billion in obligated dollars. Nearly all are related to clean energy.
Staff Capacity
Arguably the most significant sign that DOE is seeking to reopen for business is the Trump administration’s desire to raise staffing levels across key science and energy innovation offices. While post-Department of Government Efficiency staff departures continue to outpace new hires (DOE hired 141 federal staff in Q1 2026 but lost 288),[1] the White House’s fiscal year 2027 budget request included full-time employee (FTE) increases in the offices of Nuclear Energy, Loan Programs, Science, and the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy. Hiring rates are increasing: in Q1 2026, DOE hired roughly the same amount of federal staff (141) as in all of 2025 (162, excluding January).
Figure 3
What to Watch
What does this mean for America’s energy innovation progress? The three things we’re tracking closely are:
- The imbalance between DOE staff and funding in science and energy innovation offices remains historically high, raising questions about DOE’s ability to effectively implement and manage programs. Although DOE seems interested in staffing up, it is currently unclear if it can reach appropriate staffing levels and manage a growing workload in the meantime.
- The private sector’s willingness to do business with DOE is highly uncertain. DOE’s commercialization model depends on sustained industry participation and long-term public-private partnership. Recent data suggest this relationship is showing signs of strain as a result of the tumult in 2025: For example, Elemental Impact’s portfolio of 160+ cleantech companies found that 90% of firms changed their expansion, hiring, or fundraising plans amid federal policy uncertainty, alongside $659 million in government support that was eliminated or paused.[2]
- The status of future funding in many DOE offices and programs remains uncertain. It’s unclear how Congress may react to the president’s proposed rescissions and reprogramming of funds at DOE. Congress’ response will impact the department’s ability to move forward with unfrozen projects and proposed new or expanded programs (Figure 4).
Figure 4
Is DOE reopen for business? It appears so.
Whether DOE will be able to deliver on restarting nearly 2,000 projects, navigate the challenges it faces to build out its staff capacity, and develop sufficient private-sector interest—all while addressing the administration’s energy sector priorities—remains to be seen.
[1] Data from U.S. Office of Personnel Management and represent hirings and departures across all DOE offices except the National Nuclear Security Administration.
[2] Elemental Impact, Annual Report 2025: A Year of Extremes, April 2026.
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