General Electric said Tuesday it has committed $7.5 million to becoming a sustaining member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Energy Initiative (MITEI). “The world will need 50 percent more power in the next 20 years,” Steve Bolze, president and CEO of GE Power, said in a press release. “GE and MITEI are proud to be working together to find new solutions to develop cleaner, more affordable and accessible energy solutions that will address this need.”
GE’s membership in the MITEI will span five years, during which the company will contribute $1.5 million annually. Through this relationship, GE will be sponsor research programs and support the program’s “Seed Fund,” which backs novel and early-stage energy research proposals. The company also will participate if four research and development areas of the program: solar energy, energy storage, electric power systems, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
“GE’s support as a Sustaining Member and engagement in MITEI’s Low-Carbon Energy Centers will be extremely valuable in spurring further technology advancements to address complex energy and climate challenges—areas where GE’s wealth of expertise and history of developing solutions dovetail with MIT’s research,” said MITEI Director Robert Armstrong.