MITEI is driving clean energy innovation. By linking research, education, and policy, we aim to transform the world’s energy systems.
Mission
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) is MIT's hub for energy research, education, and outreach. In collaboration with industry, we advance the innovations and analyses that accelerate the low-carbon energy transition, strengthen energy security, and deliver reliable, affordable, sustainable, and clean energy for all.
Collaboration
We lead MIT’s collaborative engagement with industry, engaging with companies of all kinds from around the world to decarbonize our economy and increase access to secure, affordable energy. Learning from one another, and working together by connecting industry leaders with MIT’s faculty and researchers, we seek to identify high impact opportunities, and fund early-stage research that leads to solutions.
How we achieve our mission
We connect researchers from across MIT and facilitates collaborations with industry, nonprofits, and government to speed the development of zero- and low-carbon technologies, with the goal of identifying solutions that can move from lab to market. With our members, we support hundreds of research projects, including innovative early-stage energy projects awarded through the MITEI Seed Innovation Fund Program.
Through our Future Energy Systems Center, faculty, students, industry, and government advance R&D in key energy technology areas and subsector systems. Center researchers conduct integrated analysis of the energy system to transform power systems, transportation, industry, and the built environment.
We deliver comprehensive analyses for thought leaders, policy makers, and regulators, such as the “Future of” report series. The most recent, The Future of Energy Storage, was published in 2022. In early 2026, MITEI launched a sustainable fuels study that will be the basis for the forthcoming report, The Future of Fuels: Pathways to Sustainable Transportation.
Through our current initiatives, we catalyze focused research on key energy transition topics and technologies. Research on these issues can progress rapidly owing to MIT’s deep expertise in engineering, technology innovation, economics, and energy policy.
Our educational programs and opportunities prepare MIT undergraduate and graduate students, and global online learners, to tackle complex challenges encountered along the energy transition pathway.
Through classroom instruction, student-led research, hands-on learning opportunities, online learning, and clubs that advocate for energy, climate, and sustainability goals, students explore solutions to advance the energy transition while also enhancing energy security; increasing access to clean, affordable energy; and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Opportunities include the Energy Studies Minor, the Energy Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, short modules during the Independent Activities Period, an energy-focused first-year orientation program, the graduate Society of Energy Scholars, and a series of open access online energy classes.
We provide fact-based analysis of current energy topics to inform public policy, foster dialogue within the academic research community, and provide the public with context on vital issues. Our conferences and symposia give industry, government, and nonprofits data and insights to help drive energy system change. We also bring energy experts and leaders who are actively working on the scientific, technological, and policy solutions we urgently need to MIT to engage with the MIT community. We continue those conversations online and off through news articles, our social channels, podcasts, and our experts’ presence in the media.
Annual Impact Report
We demonstrate our impact at MIT and in the world through its Annual Impact Report. The report provides insight into our research, education, and outreach activities for the previous fiscal year.