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Climate change isn’t going anywhere Sunita Satyapal believes awareness is key to combating it Sunita Satyapal Director, Fuel Cell Technologies Office Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy U. S. Department of Energy
hydrogen activities across DOE offices. She is also responsible for the overall strategy and execution of hydrogen and fuel cell programs, including oversight of more than $1.6 billion in research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities, as well as staff. In total, she coordinates more than $9.5 billion in hydrogen activities in partnership across DOE offices. Her office has been leading the interagency working group on hydrogen for nearly two decades. “I’ve been interested in hydrogen because there’s just been so much interest partly because of the versatility,” Satyapal said. “Most people don’t know hydrogen, but it’s the most abundant element in the universe.” Satyapal coordinates international hydrogen activities as vice chair of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy, a partnership among over 20 countries to accelerate progress in hydrogen, and serves as the U.S. co-lead for hydrogen efforts within the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation.
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cience, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations are expected to experience rapid growth in the coming decade, according to Catalyst, which was founded 60 years ago. But a gender gap in STEM persists, and representation is still a prominent issue. Entering and sustaining a STEM career is a challenge for many women, but Sunita Satyapal has defied the odds and is leaving her mark at the U.S. Department of Energy. Satyapal has more than two and a half decades of experience in her field and is making significant strides in STEM. Currently, Satyapal is director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. She is responsible for coordinating
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WOMENOFCOLOR | FALL 2022
CLIMATE CHANGE, CLIMATE CRISIS Satyapal believes that hydrogen is a key tool in decarbonizing and addressing the climate crisis, a task that President Joe Biden has brought to the forefront of his agenda. Climate change isn’t going anywhere, and Satyapal believes awareness is key when combating it. She says people don’t talk about the climate crisis enough because it seems so far into the future, but time goes by very quickly. “That’s why I’m really grateful to my whole team and my colleagues here in the office I work with,” she said. “Everyone is so passionate about spreading the word.” One of the projects that really stand out for Satyapal is developing material that could absorb carbon dioxide so astronauts could go on missions longer. She has also
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