OPINION:
America’s energy landscape is undergoing a major transformation. Demand is rising from data centers, advanced manufacturing and new domestic industrial activity. At the same time, global competition and geopolitical pressures are intensifying. Countries like China are investing across the full energy and technology landscape, from early-stage research through large-scale deployment, and doing so with a coordinated national strategy. In fact, recent analyses show that China has surpassed the U.S. in total R&D spend.
To compete, the United States will need a more integrated approach to innovation policy. The 119th Congress has an opportunity to strengthen energy and technology leadership by structuring federal policy to treat basic research and applied energy programs as parts of the same innovation system.
De-risking scientific discovery helps keep American inventors ahead, while de-risking commercialization ensures U.S. companies can lead in global markets. Without a strategy that connects these stages, the U.S. risks losing its innovation advantage.
Congress can begin addressing this gap by providing updated guidance and support for key federal research agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Fundamental research programs, particularly within DOE’s Office of Science the largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences are essential to maintaining leadership in areas like quantum, artificial intelligence and advanced computing. These investments enable long-term work that is unlikely to be funded by the private sector and provide access to national laboratory infrastructure that no single company could replicate.
Applied energy programs serve a distinct but equally critical role. Technologies such as advanced nuclear, fusion, next-generation geothermal, critical minerals and grid modernization require demonstration and early deployment support before they can compete in the market. Fusion, for example, depends on decades of basic plasma physics research and requires sustained demonstration support to reach commercial viability. These programs address practical constraints such as cost, reliability and integration into existing systems.
With multiple authorizations for DOE research and applied energy programs set to expire, the 119th Congress has a practical opportunity to advance them as part of a unified innovation strategy. Reauthorizing the National Quantum Initiative and increasing investments in national laboratory infrastructure would strengthen foundational research in areas critical to long-term competitiveness. Updating and extending key applied energy programs from the Energy Act of 2020 would support technologies ready to scale. Advancing these authorizations together would improve coordination across programs, reduce gaps between discovery and deployment, and provide a more coherent signal to the private sector than separate legislative efforts.
When research and deployment move on separate tracks, promising technologies often die in the valley of death between the two too advanced for basic research funding, but not yet ready for commercial investment. Closing this gap requires intentional policy design. Co-designing basic and applied programs means setting research priorities with deployment in mind and structuring applied programs to incorporate new scientific advances. It also requires steady support across a range of technologies and risk levels. A portfolio that spans early research through demonstration increases the likelihood that multiple technologies can succeed.
This approach reflects how innovation works in the U.S. economy. The U.S. spends nearly $1 trillion annually on research and development, with the majority of that funding coming from the private sector. Federal funding plays a more targeted role, supporting early-stage research and first-of-a-kind deployment that markets alone do not sustain. Federal funding across the full energy innovation system is critical to support progress, especially as global competitors scale investment and more tightly connect research to commercialization.
For example, China has increased overall research spending by nearly 10% annually, triple the U.S. growth rate of 3.4% in 2024. In 1960, the U.S. share of global research and development was 69%, compared to 29% in 2023% in 2023, while China has rapidly increased its share from 5 percent in 2000 to 26% in 2023. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan lists building a “modern industrial system” as the first key objective, with over 100 specific projects that place energy technology at the core of its industrial strategy. Competitors are not just investing more in research; they are investing with a clear focus on moving critical technologies from research into commercial deployment.
The U.S. has significant advantages to leverage: a world-class research system, deep capital markets and a dynamic private sector. Achieving energy dominance in the long term starts with innovation dominance today. In 2026, advancing DOE research and applied energy authorizations together would send a strong signal to researchers, industry and investors that federal policy supports the full innovation lifecycle, not just isolated segments of it.
• Lisa Epifani is the Head of Policy at ClearPath, a conservative clean energy advocacy organization that works to accelerate American innovation to reduce global energy emissions.
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