Current initiatives
Standardized techno-economic analysis and lifecycle assessment frameworks will allow investors and policy makers to reliably compare the costs and emissions impact of emerging energy and climate technologies.
Join MITEI members working to address this issue
CLEARThe viability of emerging energy and climate technologies is frequently obscured by inconsistent approaches or assumptions within techno-economic analyses (TEA) and lifecycle assessments (LCS). Research groups, companies, and software packages often adopt different approaches to cost estimates and greenhouse has (GHG) emission assessments, producing divergent results. This lack of agreement erodes confidence in technology assessments and can delay adoption of innovative decarbonization solutions.
A standardized framework for TEA and LCA would enable investors, policy makers, and the public to compare emerging energy and climate technologies on a level playing field. Adopting such a framework could also facilitate policy and market decisions needed for more rapid decarbonization of key sectors.
To address this challenge, William H. Green, the director of the MIT Energy Initiative, and Elsa Olivetti, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, are convening the international engineering research community for a two-year initiative to produce Consistent Lifecycle and Economic Assessment Recommendations (CLEAR). The CLEAR project will establish best practices for techno-economic and emissions analyses of emerging energy and climate technologies, producing results grounded in trusted principles and data. By establishing consensus on key methodological choices—including system boundaries, allocation procedures, baseline assumptions, and data sources—CLEAR will reduce the variability that currently prevents direct comparison of published analyses.
Under the guidance of an expert steering committee from academe and U.S. national laboratories, the CLEAR initiative will agree on best-practice TEA and LCS frameworks and publish examples demonstrating the application of the guidelines. CLEAR subcommittees will develop and disseminate educational materials about the recommended guidelines to inform the current and next generation of TEA and LCA professionals charged with evaluating energy and climate technologies. The CLEAR initiative will also promote the standardizes TEA and LCA procedures to the international engineering and sustainability communities at professional conferences and workshops. Some software developers are collaborating with the CLEAR initiative, intending to incorporate recommended approaches into their packages.
To ensure that the best-practice guidelines for TEA and LCA are rooted in real-world use cases, CLEAR’s subcommittees include technical experts from leading companies. As of April 2026, the CLEAR initiative is supported by five energy and power companies based in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
The CLEAR initiative is an opportunity for MIT to collaborate with experts at other universities, national laboratories, and leading companies to establish clear protocols for producing rigorous, credible techno-economic analyses and lifecycle assessments of emerging energy and climate technologies. By accelerating the deployment of the most promising technologies, the CLEAR initiative will support the energy transition and spur progress towards climate and sustainability goals.
