The president announced the Energy Security Trust during his State of the Union, and it’s nice to see some follow-up on what could end up being a very positive development.
President Barack Obama toured the Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago on Friday and announced his plans for an “Energy Security Trust” to further clean energy research and development in the U.S.
The trust, which will be funded by federal royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling and not add to the budget deficit, will provide for $2 billion in research over the next 10 years. According to the White House, it will advance research into technologies like electric vehicle batteries, biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells.
Obama said on Friday at Argonne, “We have to keep investing in scientific research,” and lamented the impact of the federal budget sequester on U.S. research. “We cant afford to miss these opportunities while the rest of the world races forward,” the president argued.
Though it also includes research on natural gas, which I don’t like so much.