MITEI's Future Energy Systems Center supports cutting-edge research crucial to decarbonizing electricity, industry, transportation, and buildings. Center projects are primarily focused on systems, economics, or policy analyses using established methodologies.
Winter 2026 project submissions are closed.
For more information about future calls for project proposals, please see below.
MIT Principal Investigators (PIs) can submit project outlines to the Future Energy Systems Center twice annually, in the late winter and in the early summer. The Future Energy System Center-funded projects aim to address important questions and challenges in decarbonizing the global economy. These projects will examine techno-economics, analyze energy systems, assess technology outlooks, and/or explore policy impacts. These projects are not intended to develop new technologies or inventions.
Once a call for project outlines is announced, the project selection process has the following steps:
- PIs must submit a project outline using the online form. All project outlines must be submitted as a single slide using the template. PIs can submit multiple ideas, and we ask that they submit each separately.
- PIs invited to present their project to MITEI’s Future Energy System Center members will give a brief Lightning Talk shortly after the submission deadline.
- Projects are selected for funding usually two months after submission.
- Funding will be awarded upon completing the six-page project scope document consistent with the project outline. Projects will commence within a year of the submission.
Generally, we seek project ideas within these broad categories: Electricity, sustainable fuels, energy storage, transportation, industry, buildings, carbon management, and policy. Across all of these domains, we also want to address regional differences since resources, needs, assets, and policies differ by geography and country. Project outlines can be submitted as short projects (less than or equal to one year and $150,000) or as full projects (less than or equal to two years and $300,000). MITEI funds a limited number of projects. PIs who are not successful in receiving funding the first time are encouraged to continue seeking support from MITEI for their projects. If you have any questions, contact us.
Future Energy Systems Center
The Future Energy Systems Center is an industry research consortium delivering actionable insights for navigating the energy transition based on multi-sectoral analyses of emerging technologies, changing policies, and evolving economics.
Projects
Log in to view member-only content.
