Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Chesonis proffers $10M to MIT to make solar mainstream

MIT and the Chesonis Family Foundation have launched the Solar Revolution Project, funded by $10 million from the foundation.

The goal of the project, according to MIT, is to transform solar power from a "boutique" technology to an affordable, mainstream energy source. MIT officials said the project will complement other solar endeavors at MIT, as part of an effort to create a strong solar-energy cluster.

The Solar Revolution Project will focus on three elements: capture, conversion and storage. The research university said the project is unique in that the research will focus on new materials and systems that could make solar power into a viable energy resource in the near term.

The project will initially support 30 five-year energy fellowships for students on a range of solar-related studies, from the development of novel materials for energy conversion and storage to using solar energy to produce hydrogen fuel from water.

The funding will also help support a study on the future of solar energy, building on the results of two earlier MIT interdisciplinary reports on the future of coal and of nuclear energy in a carbon-constrained world. The foundation will also contribute to the MITEI Energy Seed Fund Program, which solicits and funds innovative energy proposals from across the MIT campus.

Other large solar projects at MIT include the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center, the MIT-Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, the Masdar Foundation solar project and a range of solar research grants to MIT from the U.S. Department of Energy and other federal agencies.

The Chesonis Family Foundation is a Cambridge-based private philanthropic organization that funds environmental and energy research projects.