No single country possesses the complete range of resources, technology, and know-how to address the world’s exponentially growing demand for clean food, water, and energy. To leverage international expertise, stretch limited R&D budgets, and avoid redundant efforts, countries enter into international energy R&D cooperative agreements, often driven by presidential directives, agency-level missions, laboratory-specific missions, etc. Although informal meetings are often the starting point for these collaborations, there are more formalized agreements that address issues of funding and intellectual property. These cooperative international R&D efforts have yielded significant results in terms of protecting the environment, providing clean and reliable energy, and other societal benefits, at the same time more efficiently utilizing time and taxpayer resources.
