DOE Creates New Fusion Office as Part of Major Reorganization
Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for new appointees in September.
DOE
The Department of Energy announced a major reorganization of the agency on Thursday that creates several brand new offices and merges, moves, or renames others. Some offices appear to have been eliminated altogether, though it is unclear if this will directly result in any staff reductions.
A press release issued by DOE states the changes reflect the Trump administration’s priorities of “expanding American energy production, accelerating scientific and technological leadership, and ensuring the continued safety and readiness of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.”
A new organization chart reveals several changes to the units overseen by the under secretary for science, a role currently held by former IBM executive Darío Gil. In addition to the existing Office of Science, the role will now manage two newly created offices — the Office of Fusion and the Office of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum — and two renamed ones. The Office of Technology Transitions, which formerly reported directly to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, has been renamed the Office of Technology Commercialization and will now be overseen by Gil. The Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies is now the Office of Strategy and Technology Roadmaps.
It is unclear if the Office of Fusion will take over the entirety of the Fusion Energy Sciences division currently housed within the Office of Science. DOE had not responded to a request for comment on this at the time of publication, but did say the Office of Science’s core mission would remain unchanged.
The Fusion Industry Association welcomed the creation of a standalone Office of Fusion, stating that “this shift has been a long-standing FIA priority, and we’re encouraged to see DOE take this step to streamline and elevate fusion programming.”
Under the previous organization chart, dated January 2025, the under secretary for science oversaw seven offices: the Office of Science, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, the Office of Nuclear Energy, the Office of Electricity, the Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies, and the Arctic Energy Office.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is not listed on the latest organization chart, but reports suggest EERE will form part of the new Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, which reports directly to Energy Secretary Wright.
The Office of Nuclear Energy, the Office of Electricity, and the Arctic Energy Office have been moved to the under secretary of energy, previously known as the under secretary for infrastructure. The role is currently held on an acting basis by Alex Fitzsimmons, director of DOE’s cybersecurity office.
The Office of Fossil Energy, which was previously overseen by the under secretary for science, also appears to have been transferred to the under secretary of energy and renamed the Office of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy — a title that suggests it will take on geothermal R&D programs previously managed by EERE. The Loans Program Office, which financed many clean energy programs, has reportedly been renamed the Office of Energy Dominance Financing and remains under the supervision of the under secretary of energy.
The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Grid Deployment Office, the Office of Federal Energy Management Program, and the Office of State and Community Programs are among the offices previously overseen by the under secretary of infrastructure that are no longer listed on the new organization chart. Energy Secretary Wright signalled his desire to shutter the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations earlier this year.
The Advanced Projects Research Agency – Energy, which President Donald Trump sought to eliminate in his first term, remains untouched in the new organization chart.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has reorganized the agency. During President Trump’s first term, the agency separated oversight of DOE’s science and applied energy offices across two under secretary positions, undoing a merger made under the Obama administration and repeated under the Biden administration.
