What is the federal government´s role in sponsoring energy R&D?

The US Government sponsors energy research and development (R&D) through a variety of mechanisms ranging from tax incentives for industrial performers, to cooperative agreements with industry and academia, to direct funding of industrial and academic R&D, to performing R&D at government-owned laboratories, to outright grants for industry and academia. There is endless debate regarding the merits of each of these methods of R&D sponsorship, and there are reams of data to support any of these positions. However, despite the diversify of opinions and perspectives, what is clear from examination of the subject is that the federal government does need to maintain a role in energy R&D in order to meet US national objectives in the areas of national security, basic science and, in some measure, global economic competitiveness. Here, US energy R&D is explained using current industrial strategic objectives, historical industrial R&D investment patterns and policy analysis from publications currently in the public domain