Monday, June 23, 2008

MIT gets $5M from toolmaker Bosch for energy initiative

By Mass High Tech Staff

MIT has struck up a partnership with the Bosch Group to study efficient energy-conversion and energy-storage systems.

The collaboration is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, an interdisciplinary research, education, campus energy management and outreach organization. As a member of the initiative, Bosch will contribute $5 million to MITEI over five years to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy research projects. Bosch’s donation will support 10 “Bosch-MIT Energy Fellows,” graduate students doing energy research.

Research funded by the partnership will focus on atomic modeling and computational search for new materials in electrochemical energy storage and electromechanical actuation, nanostructured thermoelectric materials for residential heat and electricity co-generation, and more efficient thin-film solar cells.

The Bosch Group reported sales of $63 billion in 2007. The German technology and services company focuses on automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology.