Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI)
The Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI) is an independent, agency-related foundation operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. The foundation was established through the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to “assist the Department of Energy in advancing its mission of addressing the nation’s energy and environmental challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.” The foundation is organized as an independent nonprofit with its board being appointed by the Energy Department. As of 2025 it was being run by CEO Rick Stockburger, who was hired by the group that year after leading clean energy group BRITE. 1 2 3
Contents
Background
The Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI) is an agency-related foundation affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy. The foundation was authorized by Congress as part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. The concept for forming the foundation was conceived in the Conference Report on the Energy and Water Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which directed the Department of Energy to “provide a report on the value of creating a non-profit foundation to the Committees on Appropriations of both chambers of Congress.” The DOE contracted with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to perform the study. In 2021, it released a report titled “An Innovation Foundation for DOE: Roles & Opportunities” that recommended the creation of a DOE foundation that “would be complementary and supplementary to DOE, National Labs, and lab-associated foundations.” 4
FESI was codified in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, and in 2023 the DOE issued a request for information for internal and external stakeholders to provide feedback. In 2024, the board of the organization was appointed, and in 2025 the board hired Rick Stockburger as its first CEO. 4
Activities
In December 2024, the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation announced its first funding commitments to support two ongoing Department of Energy efforts, citing the need to fill “critical funding gaps in programs with bipartisan backing.” 5
The Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity (RMUC) Program is led by DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and “safeguards the electric grid by providing rural and municipal utilities with tools, training, and funding to counter evolving cyber threats.” FESI’s funding for the program is to “provide technical assistance to resource-constrained community-based utilities.” 5
Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) was established by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) in 2020 to “foster thriving energy innovation ecosystems across the nation that drive economic growth and job creation through targeted business assistance.” FESI’s funding of the EPIC program was to “help America’s startups and small businesses scale from research and development to successful market deployment, bolstering domestic energy production and securing U.S. technological leadership.” 5
Leadership
The Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation’s board of directors includes four non-voting ex-officio members from designated Department of Energy leadership positions including the Secretary of Energy, the Undersecretary for Science and Innovation, the Undersecretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions. 3
Appointed board members as of 2025 included Kathleen A. McGinty, the vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer; Johnson Controls, the former Environmental Advisor and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and Jason Walsh, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance and former Director of the Office of Strategic Programs in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 3
The board also includes Tomeka McLeod from BP, Stephen Pearse of Yucatan Rock Ventures, and Rudolph Wynter, president of National Grid NY. 3
In 2025, Rick Stockburger was appointed by the U.S. Department of Energy as the first chief executive officer of the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation. Before his appointment, Stockburger held several executive positions in energy and technology organizations. He was co-chair of the National Coalition of Clean Energy Incubators. He was also a member of the Forbes Technology Council and a member of the board of directors at the Valley Growth Ventures. He previously worked as CEO of BRITE, a clean energy incubation group. 6