The Precourt Institute for Energy fosters opportunities for faculty and students to engage in energy research and education at Stanford and beyond. Explore funded research opportunities below.
Precourt Pioneering Projects Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty
Read the Precourt Pioneering Projects Grants 2021 RFP »
The Precourt Institute for Energy works to build Stanford’s capacity to conduct high-impact research across the full range of energy sourcing, conversions, transmission, uses, emissions abatement and carbon management, as well as improve the financial, legal and regulatory environments that affect deployment of energy technologies.
These new Precourt Pioneering Projects grant awards are aimed at tackling urgent and important problems in energy and those that are underdeveloped relative to other areas at Stanford. These awards are to support faculty to build a strong collaborative team of 3-4 faculty members and enable them to explore outside funding opportunities based on this research.
The Precourt Pioneering Projects will be funded to a level of $450,000 for two years. It is anticipated that one project will be funded per call and we plan to issue quarterly calls, each in a different focus area.
Precourt Institute for Energy Seed Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty
See Past Seed Grant Requests for Proposals »
The Precourt Institute for Energy seed grants fund Stanford faculty research with the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These proof-of-concept awards enable researchers to move from theory to early experiments and analysis. Proposals that involve interdisciplinary efforts, especially those that bring together faculty in new ways, are encouraged and receive priority. The proposed work may involve the broad range of disciplines involved in energy, for example, science, engineering, policy, and/or social science, individually or in combination.
TomKat Center Seed Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Doctoral Students
Read the TomKat Center Graduate Fellowships in Sustainable Energy Request for Proposals »
The TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy seed grants are meant to promote early-stage high-risk, high-reward research projects with seed funding of up to $100,000 per year for up to two years. The TomKat Center is currently requesting proposals for research in sustainable energy as well as research at the nexus of energy with food, water, health and the environment.
TomKat Center Energy Innovation Transfer Program
Eligibility: Stanford Faculty, Staff & Students
The Energy Innovation Transfer Program helps inventors bridge the gap between sponsored research and technology commercialization through targeted funding to help facilitate development of prototypes, conduct market research and refine business plans. The latter will heavily leverage the many on-campus entrepreneurship resources. The Energy Innovation Transfer Program advisory board, mentors and affiliates will provide input as part of the proposal evaluation process and provide mentorship and guidance to individual projects. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
TomKat Center energyCatalyst Grants
Eligibility: Stanford Students
By augmenting course curriculum with experts and experiences, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy’s energyCatalyst grants aim to cultivate interdisciplinary thinking and introduce sustainable energy concepts and opportunities to Stanford students. TomKat energyCatalyst Grants can be used to subsidize class trips; guest lecturers in a class; and materials for course projects or demonstrations. Examples of successful grant applications might include taking a class on an industry or site tour; inviting an industry expert or guest researcher to give a lecture to a class; or purchasing materials for demonstrating, prototyping or testing technology for a course project. Funding is limited to one grant per course per quarter.
