Office of Fossil Energy

The Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy is a civilian sub-agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that funds research, development, and technical services related to fossil energy technologies, including coal, natural gas, and carbon capture. The office operates through both federal contracting and grant-making mechanisms, with significant recent activity on both sides of the procurement cycle.

The Office of Fossil Energy has issued 2,807 federal contract awards since 1980, with a combined potential value of $7.94 billion and $6.97 billion obligated to date. Contract activity over the last five years shows 194 awards in 2022, 170 in 2023, 221 in 2024, 161 in 2025, and 143 year-to-date in 2026. The contract portfolio is highly fragmented on the competitive side: the top five primes by award count hold only 10 percent of recent awards and are led by Advanced Computer Concepts, Inc. (22 awards, $2.4 million combined potential value), Thundercat Technology, LLC (19 awards, $13.1 million), and Lyme Computer Systems, Inc. (19 awards, $3.8 million). By potential value, the portfolio is highly fragmented as well, with the top five capturing just 1 percent of combined potential value; Chenega Worldwide Support, LLC leads at $15.7 million across eight awards, followed by Thundercat Technology at $13.1 million and Goldbelt Operations Support Services, LLC at $12.7 million. The Office of Fossil Energy awards contracts predominantly as open competition: 77 percent carry no set-aside, with small-business set-asides (16 percent combined) and sole-source 8(a) designations (2 percent) comprising most of the remainder.

The Office of Fossil Energy has issued 1,312 federal grant awards since 2005, with $7.09 billion in federal dollars obligated and $12.12 billion in total obligated dollars including non-federal cost-share. Grant activity over the last five years was 57 awards in 2022, 171 in 2023, 124 in 2024, 60 in 2025, and 17 in 2026. The grant recipient base is moderately concentrated by award count: the top five recipients hold 16 percent of recent awards and are led by University of North Dakota (20 awards, $142 million federal dollars), University of Illinois (16 awards, $60.7 million), and The University of Kentucky Research Foundation (13 awards, $38.3 million). By federal dollars, the top five are highly fragmented, capturing 9 percent of obligated federal dollars, with Institute of Gas Technology leading at $269.1 million across eight awards, followed by University of North Dakota at $142 million and Southern States Energy Board at $90.3 million. The grant portfolio is dominated by Cooperative Agreements, which account for 88 percent of all awards; Project Grants comprise 10 percent and Formula Grants 1 percent.

Part of the Department of Energy, the Office of Fossil Energy is responsible for research and development of programs involving coal, petroleum, and natural gas.