News | MIT Energy Initiative

3 Questions: Exploring the chemistry beneath metal surfaces to advance energy technologies

MITEI Energy Scholar Santosh Singh studied subsurface species in metals to enable the design of efficient catalytic materials for energy production.

Matt Houde, Quaise Energy co-founder and chief of staff, speaks on a panel about novel strategies and recent successes in next-generation geothermal energy at the MIT Energy Initiative Spring Symposium in March 2026.

MITEI spinout Quaise raises $180 million

New funding to advance superhot geothermal plant.

Form Energy raises $750 million

New funding will speed manufacturing and deployment of iron-air batteries.

Mantel Capture demonstrates its novel carbon capture technology at commercial scale

The 2022 startup with roots in the MIT Energy Initiative sees affordable carbon capture as a necessity for industrial plants.

MIT Energy Initiative Director awarded Jürgen Warnatz Gold Medal for contributions in combustion science

MIT Energy Initiative Director William H. Green received the Jürgen Warnatz Gold Medal from the Combustion Institute at its biennial symposium in Kyoto, Japan.

For energy systems that power a reliable grid, the future is all about location

MIT researchers find that where new energy projects are built could be key to avoiding blackouts in a future with hotter weather and other challenges.

3 Questions: Understanding why rooftop solar consumers adopt energy storage

MITEI Energy UROP Anoushka Tamhane '28 analyzed the causal effect of power outages on solar and storage installation to support better policy incentives.

Hydrogen: The clean-burning fuel of the future—if we can find a cheap and clean way to ship it

A team led by MIT Energy Initiative researchers has developed a tool that enables decision makers to explore the cost and carbon emissions of their options for shipping hydrogen fuel to their site.

MIT Energy Initiative launches study of sustainable fuels for hard-to-decarbonize transportation

MIT experts will examine options for climate-friendly fuels for aviation, international shipping, long-haul trucking, and freight rail.

3 Questions: Making reliable fusion energy a reality

MITEI Energy UROP Lucy Greenup ’28 studies how radiation interacts with nuclear materials, enabling development of better failure detection systems for nuclear fusion reactors.

MIT Energy Initiative funds six early-stage energy research projects

New Seed Innovation Fund projects will advance the energy transition by reducing energy use in data centers, guiding development of fast-charging batteries, expanding geothermal energy as an abundant low-carbon power source, and more.

Via Separations to expand into new markets with $36 million investment

Based on technology developed with MITEI early-stage funding, company significantly reduces energy use in industrial separation processes.

3 Questions: Analyzing energy sector policy and economics to enable innovation and competition

MIT undergraduate Kaitlyn Flowers '26 highlights the role of the Energy Studies Minor in her shift to focus on the business side of energy.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, discusses global energy markets at a MIT Energy Initiative seminar.

How the war in the Middle East is impacting global energy systems

Expect energy disruptions and economic damage, especially in developing countries, in the short-term, and prepare to build a more resilient, sustainable energy system moving forward, says executive director of the International Energy Agency at MITEI’s Earth Day Colloquium.

3 Questions: Shedding light on why power grids go dark

Pablo Duenas-Martinez, a MITEI research scientist, describes the “death spiral” of events that caused the 12-hour Iberian peninsula power outage in 2025 and five lessons learned.

The power of “AND” in energy and climate entrepreneurship

Greentown Labs CEO emphasizes the importance of collaboration in the entrepreneurship space, and the role that universities play in this landscape.

3 Questions: Communicating energy and climate policy research

MITEI Energy UROP and Wellesley College undergraduate Janina Shivdasani '26 analyzes and communicates MIT energy and climate research and highlights the importance of making this work broadly accessible.

The need for geothermal funding is great and the time is now, experts say

MIT Energy Initiative and Clean Air Task Force host geothermal entrepreneurs and investors at GeoTech Summit.

Pablo Duenas-Martinez, a research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative, moderates a panel during MITEI's Spring Symposium on innovations and approaches to efficient, economic production of firm power at scale with Lev Ring, the president and co-founder of Sage Geosystems, Inc; Christian Besoiu, the team lead for technology development at Eavor; and Joseph Bonafin, the director of next-generation geothermal at Turboden S.p.A.

Geothermal energy turns red hot

MIT Energy Initiative symposium maps path to tap the planet’s heat-rich rocks for clean power at scale.

MITEI’s Future Energy Systems Center starts six new research projects to enable a decarbonized future

The selected projects will address carbon capture, lithium supply chains, electrical grid planning, and more.