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Senate committee hears case to extend and increase funding for State Energy Research Center
Summary
Testimony highlighted the State Energy Research Center’s early‑stage research, commercialization pipeline and outreach programs; the bill would extend the SERC sunset and increase biennial funding from $7.5 million to $10 million to support innovative energy R&D in North Dakota.
Senate Bill 2143 seeks to extend and increase funding for the State Energy Research Center (SERC) at the Energy & Environmental Research Center, a program that supports early‑stage energy research aimed at advancing innovations toward commercialization.
Tom Erickson, director of State Energy Research Center activities at the EERC, told the committee SERC has supported more than 60 projects since its creation, helped secure roughly $33 million in additional external funding and filed multiple U.S. and international patents arising from center‑funded work. Erickson described a number of semifinal and near‑commercial projects—most prominently a technology to reduce or convert gas currently flared at oil production sites—saying a relatively small state investment can spur much larger federal and private investment.
Erickson said the program sets aside roughly 10% of funds for Industrial Commission‑directed priorities and supports an education and outreach program (Energy Hawks) that brings multi‑disciplinary students to the state’s energy operations. He gave examples of SERC‑supported successes and argued that a modest funding increase will allow more early‑stage concepts to advance toward demonstration and commercialization.
Brady Pelton of the North Dakota Petroleum Council and other supporters testified in favor of continuing and expanding SERC funding. Committee members asked about ownership of patents and the EERC’s funding model; Erickson said patents are transferred to the EERC Foundation, which handles patenting expenses, and that the EERC runs largely on externally generated research revenue (about $50 million annually) with state SERC dollars representing a targeted share of funding for early‑stage work.
The committee heard no opposition testimony at the hearing. The bill would extend the SERC sunset and raise the authorized biennial appropriation from $7.5 million to $10 million, according to testimony.
