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Bits & Watts Initiative is a cross-campus effort of the Precourt Institute for Energy.

Seed Grants

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Each year, Bits & Watts invites proposals for seed funding of projects that, if successful, could equip investigators to obtain additional funding for follow-on research from other sources. Such projects inevitably involve risk; the evaluation of the proposals attempts to balance the risk and potential impacts of a successful project. This research funding is intended to encourage faculty to move into interdisciplinary energy research that is a departure from ongoing work in their research groups. Seed grant projects are typically funded up to $100K per year for two years.

The initiative's 2024 Request for Proposals (RFP) focused on the topic of sustainably powering artificial intelligence (AI). Proposals focused on innovative strategies to address the growing energy demands of AI and data centers, including but not limited to the following areas:

  • Flexibility
  • Reliability & Interconnection
  • Affordability
  • Emission Reduction and Monitoring

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