LSU held a media briefing Tuesday afternoon celebrating the reception of a $160 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the largest ever awarded by the organization.

Won in January by the LSU-led consortium Future Use of Energy in Louisiana, the grant will be used to facilitate a clean energy transition in the state through investments in carbon capture, hydrogen utilization, sustainable manufacturing and water management technologies. 

READ MORE: LSU-led consortium secures $160 million grant for energy transition initiative

FUEL partners include the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Greater New Orleans Inc., Shell, ExxonMobil and oil company Baker Hughes.

Representatives from some of the partners, the NSF and the White House attended the briefing, and answered questions in a panel format. 

The event was well attended, with reporters, industry professionals and LSU faculty having the opportunity to ask questions on how the grant would be used and its effects on Louisiana’s oil and gas industry.

LSU President William F. Tate IV spoke highly of the project, saying it was to a scale he had “never seen before” and adding, to many laughs, “I frankly feel like I just had another child.”

Tate recalled the origins of the project and said it “seemed so far away, but now it’s here.” 

The panel was moderated by LSU Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation and Ecosystem Development Andrew Maas, a key player in obtaining the grant. 

Maas called FUEL’s achievement a “historic event for the state of Louisiana, for our partners, for our university and for really energy in our state.” It was wonderful, he said, to see the fruits of 18 months of hard work and celebrate with people who worked on the project and from across multiple industries.

Justina W. Gallegos, the deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, shared the administration’s excitement on the project and highlighted how the grant is part of President Joe Biden’s investments in America.

 Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director of technology, innovation and partnerships said this work will be “game changing,” “transformational” and “just the beginning of an even longer journey.”

Part of the reason the grant went to Louisiana-based FUEL was to better invest in regions of the country that have been left behind. Gianchandani said that NSF’s hope is to help Louisiana “put its region on the map as a national leader and eventually a global leader” in the field of energy, particularly energy transition, which became a hot topic throughout the briefing.

The panel members emphasized that their goals for FUEL include supporting the energy industry while simultaneously researching methods to decrease carbon emissions and accelerate a shift toward carbon neutrality.

They estimated the grant will help generate 250,000 Louisiana jobs, assuring concerned attendees that current oil and plant workers would not lose employment, but rather transition into clean energy roles after receiving proper training.

The grant will be allocated over a period of 10 years.

“Leading the FUEL team and being selected for this transformational grant affirms what we already knew – that LSU is one of the nation’s premier research universities, poised to change the lives of the people of Louisiana and the world,” Tate said last month.