The Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota. (Photo by Kari Suedel/Energy & Environmental Research Center)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – The Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota has been forced to cut staff because of funding delays.
The EERC is cutting 27 positions, UND Assistant Vice President of Communications David Dodds said in a statement Thursday. Another 13 employees have been furloughed on a full or temporary basis, meaning the positions could be reinstated.
The statement said the EERC intends to bring furloughed employees back to work as soon as possible, based on operational needs and funding.
Dodds, who answered questions on behalf of the EERC in Grand Forks, said in an email the cuts stem from “an array of project funding sources that have been delayed over a number of years.”
The EERC had about 210 employees before the reduction, Dodds said. The organization competes for funding from federal, state and private sources with a budget that varies from year to year.
The organization brought in about $85 million in funding for fiscal year 2025, with about $40 million from competitive federal grants, $30 million from the private sector, and the rest from state sources, Tom Erickson, chief operating officer, told a legislative committee in January.
Erickson, also the EERC’s vice president for intellectual property, told lawmakers in January about the impact of delays in federal funding.
“The current federal situation has us on our heels for sure,” Erickson said. “We are waiting for the funds that were promised to us over a year ago. We are waiting for opportunities to compete for new funds. We continually get good news, but we haven’t gotten dollars yet.”
The vast majority of federal funding for the EERC comes from the U.S. Department of Energy, Erickson told lawmakers. The center also competes for state funding through the Lignite Research Program, Oil and Gas Research Council and Renewable Energy Program, as well as private industry funding.
“We have been very, very fortunate to successfully compete for a number of private sector things recently that’s helped us overcome the stalemate that has been at the federal government level,” Erickson said in the January meeting.
Representatives from UND and North Dakota State University last year told legislators that Trump administration efforts to curb federal spending had already cost the state millions in research funding, with more losses expected.
A recent post on the EERC website about its history says, “We still embrace an all-of-the-above energy approach, advancing research across coal, oil, natural gas, biomass, carbon capture, and emerging technologies.”
The EERC also is designated as North Dakota’s State Energy Research Center with oversight by the Industrial Commission. The state has authorized the EERC to conduct research in areas including nuclear energy and electric vehicles.
Other research areas include geothermal energy and enhanced oil recovery, with the research center hosting U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and industry leaders last year to discuss the potential cooperation between the oil and coal industries.
Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, called the EERC’s work “critically important” to North Dakota, the nation’s No. 3 oil producing state.
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