Call for applications

The Scott Institute for Energy Innovation has proudly supported energy and climate research projects with seed funding since its founding in 2012. The seed grant program expanded in 2024 to include new opportunities for cleantech entrepreneurs and in 2025 to add a joint seed grant with the Carnegie Bosch Institute to fund a research project on evaluating the contribution of household smart and flexible energy technologies to power grid stability and efficiency. 

Recipients of these awards are expected to apply for larger, externally funded projects after the initial seed period. Previous research projects have focused on decarbonizing plastics, improving the efficiency of direct air capture (DAC) technologies, and demystifying hydrogen’s damaging effects on metals.

Prior to submitting a proposal for a seed grant, interested faculty need to become a Scott Institute faculty affiliate (and, for the co-sponsored funding, a CBI Faculty Host), if they are not already.

2024 highlights

  • 35 proposals received
  • $2.2M in funding requested
  • $400,000 awarded to 7 projects

The Scott Institute is eager to promote new collaborations, and therefore, preference will be given to proposals that involve multiple faculty members and new interdisciplinary interactions (interschool, interdepartmental, or intercenter). Priority will be given to those proposals with the capacity to create new activities that can ultimately engage multiple faculty members across disciplines and research methodologies or domains.

Proposals are typically due in January and will be reviewed by a faculty committee comprised of Scott Institute Faculty Affiliates. Reviewers who are party to a proposal will not be asked to rank their own submission. Final selection of grant winners will be made by the Scott Institute leadership.

For more information, please contact Daniel Tkacik.

Annual announcements

  • 2025: A thirteenth round of awards led to over $400,000 in funding from the Scott Institute and our Grand Challenge Partners for seven projects. 
  • 2024: A twelfth round of grants led to $400,000 in funding from the Scott Institute and our Grand Challenge Partners for seven projects.
  • 2023: An eleventh round of grants led to nearly $230,000 in funding from the Scott Institute and the EQT Foundation for three projects.
  • 2022: A tenth round of grants led to over $278,000 in funding from the Scott Institute and the EQT Foundation for five projects.
  • 2021: A ninth round of grants led to over $400,000 in funding from the Scott Institute and the EQT Foundation for six projects.

Related news

Home electrification to stabilize the grid

Mario Bergés received seed funding to refine a model called Ibex-RL, an upgrade of a previous model that uses both machine learning and physics-based concepts to control heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) functions in buildings.

A regional model for producing clean hydrogen

Ana Torres received a 2025 seed grant from the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University to study potential clean hydrogen production methods for Western Pennsylvania.

A cross-stack solution for energy-efficient data centers

GPUs, or graphics processing units, are the building blocks for many AI tools, but a single unit can consume as much power as a dishwasher or a microwave.

Nocturnal AI to solve energy curtailment

A central question, How can we optimally design energy supply chains and schedule AI work to best utilize solar and wind energy?, is timely amid mounting curiosity about the most efficient way to power AI data centers as they grow in number.

Seed grant spotlight: Increasing U.S. transportation resilience

To adequately support electrification of the U.S. transportation sector, which claims the greatest energy use and greenhouse (GHG) gas emissions in the country, it’s important to make the supply chain resilient and adaptable to changing policies, global trade conditions, and consumer demand.

Seed grant spotlight: Upgrading direct air capture

Thanks to support from a Scott Institute seed grant, Salvador and Islam hope to resolve a key issue with current DAC technologies: they don’t capture enough greenhouse gas emissions to justify the steep cost.

Seed grant spotlight: Giving plastics a new lease on life

Sydlik and Wang are using their expertise to manipulate the properties of polymers, making it easier to upcycle plastics.

New co-sponsored award to advance research in AI and energy

The Scott Institute and The Block Center for Technology and Society have co-sponsored a new award to advance research in AI and energy at Carnegie Mellon University.