Seven energy research projects, supported by MIT Energy Initiative, focus on ammonia as a hydrogen carrier and advanced battery management for electric vehicles.
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) has awarded over $1.2 million in grants to support seven novel energy research projects, as part of its Seed Fund Program. The funding will drive forward cutting-edge science in key areas such as ammonia-based hydrogen storage, electric vehicle battery technology, and data center energy planning.
One project, led by Assistant Professor Zachary Smith, builds on a recent discovery from MIT's Smith Lab for electric-field enhanced CO capture. The aim is to develop microporous semiconductors for electric-field enhanced CO capture, a promising approach that could lead to significant advancements in carbon capture technology.
Professor Sylvia Ceyer is overseeing a project focused on ammonia as a hydrogen carrier. The goal is to reduce the energy cost of the reaction needed to decompose ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen. This could make ammonia a more viable and efficient hydrogen carrier, addressing challenges related to volume and safety.
Saurabh Amin and Deepjyoti Deka are the Principal Investigators for a project aimed at developing DecarbAI, a software framework that leverages machine learning to transform energy planning for data centers. The project aims to accelerate grid planning for the data center era, ensuring reliable, clean power at scale.
In the field of electric vehicle (EV) battery management, a research team led by Professor Richard Braatz is working to develop fast-charging protocols and fault prognostic methods for efficient and reliable EV management. The aim is to enhance the performance, safety, and lifespan of EV batteries, which is critical for widespread EV adoption and reducing carbon emissions from transportation.
Another project, led by Professor Martin Bazant, focuses on the separation and recycling of rare earth elements. The goal is to develop a redox-mediated electrosorption process to efficiently separate REEs, a crucial step towards a more sustainable and circular economy for these valuable materials.
The Robotics for efficient infrastructure maintenance project aims to make renewable energy systems more reliable and scalable by using robotics for infrastructure maintenance. This could lead to a more efficient and cost-effective way of maintaining renewable energy infrastructure, ensuring their long-term viability and sustainability.
William H. Green, Director of MITEI, stated that the Seed Fund Program encourages new innovations that could move the needle on climate change. Over the past four cycles, the largest concentration of projects awarded funding have been related to batteries and energy storage. To date, the MITEI Seed Fund Program has supported 226 energy-focused projects through grants totaling $29.8 million.
The Seed Fund Program supports early-stage clean energy research and encourages researchers from across the Institute to explore new energy-related ideas. This year, 41 proposals were submitted from 63 faculty, research scientists, and engineers across 21 different departments, centers, labs, and institutes.
These projects align with MITEI’s broader goals to accelerate clean energy innovation and support scalable solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The MITEI Seed Fund Program acts as a catalyst for early-stage research in key areas of energy storage and decarbonization, driving forward science that could lead to commercial and societal advances in clean energy.
- The project led by Professor Martin Bazant in the field of energy, specifically the separation and recycling of rare earth elements, aligns with the broader goals of MITEI to accelerate clean energy innovation.
- In the realm of finance, the Technology sector could potentially benefit from the advancements in EV battery management, as the project led by Professor Richard Braatz aims to enhance the performance, safety, and lifespan of EV batteries, critical for widespread EV adoption and reducing carbon emissions from transportation.
