Thousands of DOE grants have remained up in the air for over a year. (Latitude Media)
During the second Trump administration, the DOE has announced the gutting of hundreds of awards, adding up to $12.5 billion in slashed federal funding. But the agency has only officially de-obligated funds for 30 projects, DOE Alumni Network report reveals, and essentially frozen thousands of projects for over a year.
The real-world impact: Some projects can’t afford to wait it out. Case in point? Clean cement startup Sublime Systems laid off two-thirds of its workforce while waiting months for news on a $87M DOE grant aimed to scale its manufacturing.Â
Some projects are finding limited success in court, but for most there’s no clear path forward. DOE Alumni Network’s warning: The standoff risks eroding trust in federal grants as a tool for energy policy.