MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)

Erik Landry (center) of MIT’s Office of the Vice President for Research spoke with British Columbia’s climate minister George Heyman (far right) at the COP24 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland. Joining the conversation were (left to right): Claude Nahon of EDF, Sergey Paltsev of MIT, and Sir Philip Lowe of the World Energy Council.

“Climate change will not wait for us”

At UN Climate Change Conference, MIT researchers share knowledge and tools to help nations meet Paris Agreement targets.

December 13, 2018

Two new reports show how well countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America are doing in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and what steps they can take to move closer to meeting their Paris Agreement pledges.

Technology and policy pathways to Paris emissions goals

Two new MIT reports advance practical emissions-reduction strategies for Southeast Asia and Latin America at both the regional and country level.

December 10, 2018

Professor Gabriela S. Schlau-Cohen (center) and graduate students Raymundo Moya (left) and Wei Jia Chen worked with collaborators at the University of Verona, Italy, to develop a new understanding of the mechanisms by which plants reject excess energy they absorb from sunlight so it doesn’t harm key proteins. The insights gained could one day lead to critically needed increases in yields of biom...

Understanding how plants use sunlight

Studies of how photoprotection works at the molecular level may provide a pathway to more biomass and crops.

December 4, 2018

Associate Professor A. John Hart (right), doctoral student Adam Stevens SM ’15, and their colleagues have designed a 3-D printer that can deposit material 10 times faster than today’s desktop models can. The team has also developed a novel process for 3-D printing using cellulose, a widely available natural polymer.

Accelerating 3-D printing

Researchers have designed a novel printhead that works with unprecedented speed and pioneered ways to melt and extrude renewable materials.

November 29, 2018

MIT Energy Initiative Director Robert Armstrong welcomes attendees to MITEI’s annual research conference, which featured panels on topics ranging from climate change to energy startups to the critical role artificial intelligence and machine learning can play in developing technology for a low-carbon energy future.

Q&A: Climate change, tough tech startups, and the future of energy intelligence

MIT Energy Initiative Director Robert Armstrong offers his perspective on the takeaways from MITEI’s annual research conference.

October 25, 2018

School of Engineering third quarter 2018 awards

Faculty members recognized for excellence via a diverse array of honors, grants, and prizes over the last quarter.

October 19, 2018

A panel discusses Scaling Social Enterprises at the fourth annual Tata Center Symposium.

Translating research into impact

Fourth annual Tata Center Symposium highlights the need to invest in technologies for the developing world from a market-driven perspective.

October 17, 2018

A research collaboration agreement between the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and INALUM was announced at a supporting event of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Pictured, left to right: Business executive Rudy Setyopurnomo MS ’92, founder of the MIT Club of Indonesia; Wendy Duan, manager of Asia Pacific energy partnerships at MITEI; Budi Guna...

INALUM collaborates with MIT Energy Initiative to advance low-carbon energy technologies

Indonesian company will support research through MITEI’s Low-Carbon Energy Center for Materials in Energy and Extreme Environments.

October 12, 2018

Karen Dawson participates in a panel discussion about the new MIT interdisciplinary study, “The Future of Nuclear in a Carbon-Constrained World.”

Student insight on the "Future of Nuclear Energy" study

Student researchers lend voices, ideas for exploring nuclear energy’s potential to address climate change, and describe insights gained from the experience.

October 5, 2018

MIT Energy Initiative study reports on the future of nuclear energy

Findings suggest new policy models and cost-cutting technologies could help nuclear play vital role in climate solutions.

September 4, 2018

Professor Kristala Jones Prather leads a discussion at MITEI about the future of biofuels — and whether the prime window of time for their deployment has already passed or has not yet come. Prather argued for the latter. “I think it’s too early,” she told the undergraduates. “We just haven’t spent enough time on the problem yet.”

Kristala Prather: Advancing energy-efficient biochemistry

Associate professor of chemical engineering talks about the future of biochemistry and the next generation of scientists and engineers.

July 16, 2018

An MIT team performing fundamental studies of systems for cooling and dehumidifying indoor spaces includes (l-r): Professor Leslie Norford, graduate students Tianyi Chen and Omar Labban, and Professor John Lienhard. Chen and Labban began the work when they teamed up for an assignment in an advanced energy conversion class taught by Professor Ahmed Ghoniem (not pictured).

Cooling buildings worldwide

Analysis points the way to energy-efficient systems that take a location-specific approach to cooling and dehumidifying places where people live and work.

July 11, 2018

An MIT study estimates the impact of a trade war between the U.S. and the rest of world when the U.S. alone does not comply with the Paris Agreement. The aim of such a trade war would be to compel the U.S. to meet its Paris pledge.

What is the likely outcome of a trade war between the U.S. and the rest of the world?

Study highlights economic losses for participating countries.

June 26, 2018

Bruno Verdini discusses strategies for natural resources negotiation with MIT Energy Initiative Communications Director Emily Dahl at a MITEI seminar.

3Q: Winning together in negotiation

Bruno Verdini, executive director of the MIT-Harvard Mexico Negotiation Program, discusses his award-winning research on negotiating for mutual gains.

June 21, 2018

Bruno Verdini explored the keys to successful high-stakes negotiations by interviewing dozens of people who worked together to settle long-running disputes between the United States and Mexico over shared natural resources in the Colorado River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Natural resource negotiations for mutual gains

Through research on U.S. - Mexico hydrocarbon drilling rights negotiation, Bruno Verdini provides insights on how to resolve conflicts through proactive collaboration.