MIT Energy Initiative

3Q: Ernest Moniz on the Vatican climate dialogue

Professor emeritus and former U.S. energy secretary reflects on recent meeting with Pope Francis and energy and finance leaders.

June 12, 2018

Left to right: Seed Fund awardees Ahmed Ghoniem, Betar Gallant, Karthish Manthiram, and Bilge Yildiz.

MIT Energy Initiative awards nine Seed Fund grants for early-stage energy research

Awardees will use grants to advance research in areas including energy storage, renewables expansion modeling, and the chemistry of electrocatalysts.

June 1, 2018

Abigail Krich, founder and president of Boreas Renewables, discusses New England's impending energy market transition from natural gas domination to a greater proliferation of renewables.

3 Questions: New England’s wholesale electricity markets

Boreas Renewables' Abigail Krich discusses the incompatibility of New England’s electricity market structure with achieving carbon emissions reduction goals.

May 23, 2018

Kouichi Murakami (left), general manager of corporate research and development at IHI Corporation, meets with MIT Energy Initiative Director Robert Armstrong.

IHI Corporation to support MIT Energy Initiative

Tokyo-based IHI will join MITEI’s Low-Carbon Energy Center for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage to reduce greenhouse gases and advance clean energy.

May 15, 2018

“What this study shows is that rather than shut down nuclear plants, you can operate them in a way that makes room for renewables,” says MIT Energy Initiative researcher Jesse Jenkins. “It shows that flexible nuclear plants can play much better with variable renewables than many people think, which might lead to reevaluations of the role of these two resources together.”

Keeping the balance: How flexible nuclear operation can help add more wind and solar to the grid

Model finds operating nuclear plants flexibly can reduce electricity costs, increase revenue for nuclear plants, and cut carbon emissions in electric power systems.

April 25, 2018

At Michigan State University’s W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center researchers are evaluating the performance of a variety of novel bioenergy crop production systems for crop yield and quality, impacts on microbial-plant interactions, biogeochemical and biodiversity responses and water use.

Gauging the effects of water scarcity on an irrigated planet

Study projects likely impacts on food prices, bioenergy production, and deforestation.

April 19, 2018

Professor John Heywood is a leading expert on internal combustion engines. His seminal book, "Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals," has been revised in a second edition to reflect recent technological advances that make the internal combustion engine more efficient and environmentally friendly.

3Q: John Heywood on the future of the internal combustion engine

Professor of mechanical engineering explains the importance of advancing internal combustion engines and offers his take on recent EPA rollbacks.

April 18, 2018

Person holds up device with lens near their eye

Tata Center adds eight new projects to its 2018-2019 portfolio

MIT principal investigators will receive funding and support for projects seeking an impact in the developing world.

April 12, 2018

Putting a price on carbon, in the form of a fee or tax on the producers of fossil fuels, can be an effective way to curb emissions of greenhouse gases.

Carbon taxes could make significant dent in climate change, study finds

Several different carbon-pricing approaches would help reduce emissions, and some would be fair as well, researchers report.

April 6, 2018

Daniel Kammen, professor of energy at the University of California at Berkeley, spoke on clean energy innovation and implementation in a talk at MIT.

3 Questions: Innovating for the clean energy economy

Daniel Kammen of the University of California at Berkeley discusses current efforts in clean energy innovation and implementation, and what's coming next.

March 28, 2018