Performance slowdowns often occur when projects expand across multiple business processes and teams. This results in a significant amount of handoff between teams, creating a delivery risk. Additionally, if each phase of the project (such as material planning, technology development, and adoption mechanisms) is done independently, it becomes more difficult to translate those efforts into successful outcomes.
Why does delivery slow when ownership and handoffs are not clear?
The biggest challenge with the structure of a project team is when the team has to collaborate with other teams. Because priorities can be competing in order to obtain approval, accountability can be ambiguous, and although the design of a project may be solid, the process of coordinating can cause delays and slow down the progress of a project.
Similarly, when an organization is dependent upon external relationships (delivery stakeholders, industry partners, research partners), a defined structure is necessary to enable those relationships. If there is no clear understanding as to who is leading a particular program or initiative, then it will take longer to create and establish partnerships, and it will be more difficult to measure the success of those partnerships.
As a result, when the definition of requirements is subject to interpretation by partners, the amount of rework needed to clarify those differences is greatly reduced because partners can clearly identify one accountable owner for each decision made, for all updates, and for each next required action taken at each phase of the project.
What was reorganized, and what does the Department intend to accomplish?
Audrey Robertson, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), has stated that new challenges necessitate a new orientation; she cited an “unprecedented” surge in demand for energy and the critical minerals necessary for today’s modern economy. The Department views the changes as responses to demands from outside the Department rather than as an internal initiative.
In order to enhance transparency, the Clean Manufacturing, Energy, and Industrialization (CMEI) program will be divided into three separate offices, each headed by a Deputy Assistant Secretary and focused on: minerals and manufacturing, energy technology development, or standards and programs that impact the cost and availability of energy technologies.
In terms of manufacturing and minerals, the department will accelerate mining projects, advance critical mineral and metals production alternatives; advance research and development (R&D) on new battery and magnetic technologies, encourage process and metallurgical innovations, and encourage recycling of black mass, battery components, and other critical minerals.
Regarding energy technology, the department has identified that R&D is needed on next-generation energy technologies (fuels, chemicals, etc.), as well as commercialization and deployment of those technologies, so that America can have a robust and reliable energy infrastructure and decrease the cost of energy for consumers.
What this could imply for implementation and stakeholder navigation?
A major aspect of the realignment is that the Department identifies delivery tools (building codes, appliance standards, weatherization, etc.) and transparency, choice, and affordability as key elements for the Department’s delivery mechanisms for solutions rather than as secondary strategies for the Department.
This realignment was described by the Department as the next step in a restructuring and rebranding of CMEI programs, which occurred in November 2025. The Department appears to be continuing to refine its organizational structure and how responsibilities are assigned within the organization.
To stakeholders, the test will be if the Department’s new organizational structure results in better clarity regarding what is required of them. Collaborating with the Department reduces the time necessary to complete decision-making processes while moving forward simultaneously on supply chain work, technological development, and adoption program implementation. Ultimately, this will help stakeholders determine whether they can efficiently make adjustments to collaborate with the Department.
