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At a policy workshop in Bangkok, Thailand, Christopher Knittel, MIT associate dean for climate and sustainability, emphasized that analytical tools must be paired with engagement by decision makers. “Effective climate action depends not only on strong analysis, but on sustained dialogue with policy makers and industry leaders,” said Knittel. “Partnerships like this help bridge research and real-world implementation.”

Electrified Thermal Solutions—a startup with MITEI ties—developed a new “thermal battery” capable of helping power the manufacturing of energy-intensive materials like steel and cement. “We’re talking about massive emissions reductions—to the tune of several gigatons per year of CO2—reduced through this transition,” said co-founder and CEO Daniel Stack SM ’17, PhD ’21, who, as a student, was a research associate on a MITEI-funded energy storage project.

Christopher Knittel, MIT associate dean for climate and sustainability, cites aging electrical grid infrastructure and the increasing number of data centers across the United States as key factors in rising electricity costs.

When the federal government announced that it would cut funding for an experimental fusion reactor at MIT in 2012, campus researchers responded by developing new fusion techniques. This set the foundation for the creation of MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems, according to CEO Bob Mumgaard SM '15, PhD '15.

MITEI Senior Research Scientist Sergey Paltsev shares his expertise in a conversation with Boston College's Climate Reveal podcast about the energy needs of the world and the best big-picture approach to meet those needs moving forward.

MIT researchers have developed a new kind of electron-conducting cement “that can store and release electricity like batteries.”

A new method developed by MIT researchers can predict how plasma will behave in a tokamak reactor, lowering major barriers to achieving large-scale nuclear fusion.

GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik visited MIT's campus for the launch of the MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance, which will fund research initiatives, fellowships, and other programs over the next five years with an eye toward improving energy technologies and decarbonization.

MIT Professor Emeritus Donald Sadoway discussed the development of solid-state batteries and the future of electric vehicles: “In 2035 the U.S. the automobile market will be roughly the same as today, but by then the massive demand for electricity from computers, AI, and EVs will combine to demand more electricity than the grid can supply." 

As a graduate student, Paul Sizaire joined the SESAME research group led by former MITEI research scientist Emre Gençer. Along with Gençer and fellow student researcher Jim Owens, Sizaire co-founded Sesame Sustainability, an industrial decarbonization platform that simplifies infrastructure investments for a green energy transition.

MIT spinout Sublime Systems signed a deal with Microsoft to supply over 600,000 metric tons of their low-carbon cement over the next six to nine years. “Sublime’s mission is to have a swift and massive impact measured in the amount of cement we produce and sell,” said CEO Leah Ellis, a former MIT postdoc.

New Jersey is further committing to nuclear energy—which already represents 42% of its energy mix—by investing in the development of next-generation reactors, like small modular reactors. “Having nuclear already is a big factor, both in terms of direct workforce in nuclear, but also the army of accountants, lawyers, and on-site inspectors,” said MITEI Energy Systems Researcher Ruaridh Macdonald on the support offered by existing infrastructure.