Energy innovation expert Michael Mazzola has been tapped to serve as executive director of the massive LSU-led FUEL partnership, the university announced last week.
For those unfamiliar, Future Use of Energy in Louisiana—or FUEL—is a statewide team that secured a $160 million National Science Foundation grant in January in support of Louisiana’s energy industry. That grant is the largest ever awarded by the NSF.
FUEL will primarily focus on Louisiana’s energy transition and the decarbonization of the state’s industrial corridor. The team comprises more than 50 private and public partners, including community and technical colleges, energy companies, state agencies and universities.
Through Louisiana Economic Development, the state will provide an additional $67.5 million to the effort.
Mazzola’s hiring ends a months-long, global search for FUEL’s executive director.
Mazzola most recently served as executive director of the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He also previously served as project director for Clean Carolinas, another regional effort to advance clean energy.
“I’m excited to be part of the drive to change Louisiana’s future, the lives of its residents and people throughout the world for the better,” Mazzola says. “No state is better equipped or better motivated to change how we produce and use energy.”
