Melissa D'Andrea

I’m a senior energy and environmental strategy leader with 16 years advising the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) on carbon management, decarbonization pathways, technology readiness, and national research portfolio strategy. I thrive guiding complex scientific programs and translating technical innovation into actionable policy and investment decisions.

In my work, I lead cross-program analysis across areas like Carbon Capture, Gasification, Fuel Cells, Critical Minerals, Major Demonstrations, and Turbines. I also produce executive-ready communication—authored and edited research reports, market and industry updates, and strategic presentations distributed to thousands of stakeholders, including federal leadership.

I strengthen program performance through TRL-based R&D portfolio evaluations and helped develop NETL’s Operational Readiness Level (ORL) framework to improve readiness for technology deployment. I’ve directed national Call for Papers processes and chaired technical sessions for CO₂ Storage, Oil & Gas, and Carbon Utilization to advance community engagement and scientific leadership.

Before NETL, I directed commercialization strategy for university and private-sector innovations, guiding IP evaluation, licensing pathways, and partnership development. Earlier, as a Project Manager at Carnegie Mellon’s Environmental Technology Center, I led applied environmental microbiology research and delivered data analysis and chemical modeling that helped clients avoid multi-million-dollar remediation costs while identifying significant laboratory and process savings.