The Office of International Affairs is engaged in a number of cross-cutting initiatives to tackle the most pressing global energy challenges.

Current International Affairs initiatives include:

International Energy Policy Development and Coordination

IA serves as DOE’s representative on internationally-focused Policy Coordination Committees (PCCs) managed by the National Security Council (NSC) and the National Economic Council (NEC), and serves as the conduit for policy and technical expertise across DOE and other Agencies. 

IA collaborates with DOE Senior Leadership, program offices, and the DOE National Laboratory complex, coordinating across the enterprise to leverage technical, policy, and market expertise with international partners.

 IA maintains authoritative knowledge of international energy matters relating to the activities, issues, and policies, for the Administration. IA coordinates the U.S. Government’s international energy relationships with foreign governments and energy ministries, working in concert with the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, Interior, Commerce and other relevant federal agencies.

International Working Groups, Meetings, and Activities
Program Direction fully funds federal staff participation in and implementation of interagency working groups, international meetings, activities, and policy areas, including:

  • International Energy Agency (IEA)
  • U.S.-EU Energy Council
  • G-7/G20 Energy Ministers Meeting
  • Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (PTEC)
  • Three Seas Initiative (3SI)
  • Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) / Mission Innovation (MI)
  • International Energy Forum (IEF)
  • Eastern Med Gas Forum (EMGF)
  • Gulf of Aqaba Energy Dialogue
  • Iraq Initiatives
  • North American Energy Cooperation (NAEC)
  • Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA)
  • Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
  • U.S.-Israel Energy Meetings
  • U.S.-Brazil Energy Forum (USBEF)
  • U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership
  • U.S.-Kazakhstan Energy Partnership
  • U.S.-Ukraine Energy Cooperation
  • U.S.-Mexico Energy Business Council
  • U.S.-Japan Strategic Energy Partnership (JUSEP)
  • U.S.-Korea Energy Policy Dialogue
  • U.S.-Indonesia Energy Policy Dialogue
  • U.S.-Poland Energy Dialogue
  • U.S.-Africa Cooperation
  • U.S.-Saudi Arabia Energy Cooperation

Market Development

A top priority of this office is to promote the competiveness of the U.S. energy industry in foreign markets. The ability for U.S. companies to maintain an established footing in economic and geographically strategic countries is imperative to U.S. security and economic interests.

The Administration’s support for all forms of energy, related infrastructure, and innovative technologies drives the office of Market Development to support the export of U.S. gas, oil, coal, nuclear and renewable technologies, as well as associated energy infrastructure and financing.

Coordination of Foreign Engagements with National Laboratories

IA serves as the coordinating body for international engagement with DOE’s 17 National Laboratories. In this function, IA manages the DOE approval process for the National Laboratories’ international partnerships.

Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC)

P-TECC was created in 2018 (then called the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation) to support the energy goals of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) by providing technical support to European countries as they seek to reduce their energy dependence on Russia.

P-TECC includes participation from 23 countries and the European Union, as well as State and USAID. Participation is broken into four working groups (Critical Infrastructure, Nuclear Energy, Security of Fuel Supply, and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), each co-chaired by a DOE office and a P-TECC member country.

Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy

BIRD Energy is a joint program between the U.S. Department of Energy, the Israel Ministry of Energy jointly with the Israel Innovation Authority, and the BIRD Foundation.  This program develops innovation through U.S.-Israel cooperation on a range of clean energy technologies, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, natural gas, and energy–water technologies.

BIRD Energy has awarded around 50 projects over the last 10 years; 7 technologies have been commercialized, while awardees have attracted $450 million in follow-on investment.

US-Israel Energy Center of Excellence

The goal of the U.S.-Israel Energy Center is to promote energy security and economic development through the research and development of innovative energy technologies in Fossil Energy, Energy Storage, Energy Cyber, and Energy-Water Nexus by facilitating expanded cooperation between consortia of U.S. and Israeli companies, universities, and research institutions. It is implemented under a cooperation agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy, the Israel Ministry of Energy jointly with the Israel Innovation Authority, and the BIRD Foundation.

Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

Program Direction fully funds IA’s responsibilities to ensure compliance with the Foreign Investment Risk Review and Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA).  FIRRMA modernizes CFIUS’s process to better enable timely and effective reviews of covered transactions to ensure that the U.S has a robust open foreign investment regime while properly screening inbound investments to ensure U.S vital national security interests are protected.

Under FIRRMA, DOE CFIUS assists at a technical level with capacity building among U.S. international allies, especially in Europe among NATO partners and member states of the European Union.  DOE CFIUS international outreach is focused on ensuring our allies maintain a proper balance between open foreign investment regimes to attract high quality investment, while ensuring vital national security interests are protected from aggressive predatory investment practices by countries with malign intent.