MIT Energy Initiative

Unless coupled with stronger emissions regulations, the use of ammonia for maritime fuel could worsen air quality and significantly impact public health, finds a recent MIT study. “The results of this study show the importance of developing policies alongside new technologies," states Professor Noelle Selin, co-author of the study. "There is a potential for ammonia in shipping to be beneficial for both climate and air quality, but that requires that regulations be designed to address the entire range of potential impacts, including both climate and air quality.” Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e2S-UGVt 

Building more sustainable and equitable cities requires collaborative action. The living lab concept – a method of co-development among public and private actors, researchers, and civil society – can be a helpful tool to achieve these goals. Learn how to develop and implement a living lab, including stakeholder engagement and coalition building, with "Transformative Living Labs in Urban Climate Action and Transportation Planning," an online course from the MIT Energy Initiative. Starts July 16! Learn more and enroll at https://bit.ly/4eK8xBW #ClimateAction #UrbanPlanning #TransportationPlanning #OnlineCourses

MITEI Deputy Director for Policy Christopher Knittel says that net metering has “all sorts of equity and economic implications” as homeowners without solar incur greater costs to maintain the grid, while homeowners with solar pay very little. Net metering alone isn’t the problem—rethinking the entire electricity rate system is needed for a just energy transition. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e6gkTbv6 

In a new opinion piece published by the Boston Business Journal, MITEI Director William H. Green says that if we are to solve the climate problem, the entire global economy needs to change. He says that "all are essential for a real climate solution: universities and start-ups for innovation, government for policy, big companies for massive scale." "As the new director of the MIT Energy Initiative, I am focused on convening researchers, economists, industry, non-profits, and government to reach consensus on practical approaches to decarbonize each sector of our economy as quickly as possible," says Green. "That consensus reduces the risk, and so encourages the massive investments needed to stop climate change." Read more: https://lnkd.in/dYqSKHuN

Thursday, July 11 at 2pm: Join us for a C3E webinar on advanced nuclear energy. Are you looking to learn more about recent developments in nuclear reactor design, demonstration, and deployment? The advanced reactors being designed and demonstrated today will be capable of doing more than just producing electricity. Hear how nuclear energy, when integrated with other generating sources, can be an enabling technology for local economic development. In this webinar, the panel will discuss new technologies and the status of demonstrations, future energy systems that include the integration of multiple generating sources, and the role of DOE and national laboratories in bringing these technologies to market. Register now: https://lnkd.in/eyzDJWNw #event #nuclear #energy #C3Ewomen

The MIT Energy Initiative’s Future Energy Systems Center kicked off 12 new energy projects at their Spring Workshop in May, with topics ranging from optimizing energy storage to CO2 capture to transporting hydrogen energy. These projects will continue the Center’s focus on systems-oriented research, allowing for holistic, multisectoral analyses of current energy challenges across a variety of disciplines.  “A systems approach—where academia, industry, and government work together to provide many perspectives on a problem—allows us to see the whole problem as a system, hopefully leading to more optimal solutions for society,” states MITEI Director William H. Green. Learn more about the awarded projects: https://lnkd.in/eJV5am7G  #energy #research #mit

A group of MIT students, supported by the MIT Energy Initiative, visited the Netherlands last week to see how another country is investing in and implementing low-carbon technologies—including learning about hydrogen energy production, exploring an on-site experimental energy grid, and visiting a local district energy heating project. Their visit included trips to the Port of Eemshaven, Hanze University of Applied Science's Center of Expertise Energy, the Dutch energy company Gasunie, and the University of Groningen. Are you interested in joining the next field trip? MITEI will be heading to Germany and Denmark on August 24-September 1 to explore renewable energy startups, visit the Esbjerg coast to learn about sustainable resource management, discover new energy projects at Kiel University, and more.  Open to MIT undergraduate and graduate students. Deadline to apply is July 1: https://lnkd.in/eXwpWtzN #education #mit #sustainability #energy

Researchers from MIT are using AI tools to identify advanced functional materials that can be used to boost the performance and stability of solar cells.  “There’s power in optical characterization methods. You can obtain information very quickly. There is richness in images, over many pixels and wavelengths, that a human just can’t process but a computer machine-learning program can,” states Professor Tonio Buonassisi. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/erCPPct7  #energy #mit #research #solar #ai #machinelearning

A recent MIT course challenged students to examine the Institute's path to achieve decarbonization goals. “We are trying to bring these technologies together so that we see how this [decarbonization process] would actually look on our campus,” states Professor Christoph Reinhart. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/edhiqVZS  #mit #education #decarbonization #sustainability #energy