Request for Proposals

Precourt Institute seed grant funding opportunities for Stanford faculty

Request for Proposals from Stanford Faculty in Energy
Read full RFP here.
Issued: Monday, September 29, 2025
Proposals Due: Monday, November 10, 2025

The Precourt Institute for Energy works with faculty, staff, students and postdocs to elevate Stanford’s capacity to conduct high-impact research to enable sustainable, affordable, secure energy for all. Curtailing emissions of greenhouse gases is critical to realizing this vision, as energy generation, conversion and utilization constitute more than three-quarters of global emissions.

The Precourt Institute invites proposals from Stanford faculty for seed funding of projects that, if successful, could equip investigators to explore new directions and obtain funding for follow-on research. Such projects inevitably involve risk; the evaluation of the proposals aims 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. Additionally, we encourage proposals that bring researchers and practitioners from academia, industry, NGOs, and government together to solve energy challenges, though seed grant funds must remain at Stanford.

We support all work in energy, represented by the following programs: Bits & Watts Initiative, Hydrogen Initiative and Natural Gas Initiative (collectively, Fuels of the Future), Stanford Center for Carbon Storage, StorageX Initiative, and the new Sustainable Mobility Center. Expected seed funding for each project in all areas – except where stated – is for up to $100,000 per project for one-year. Funding for all areas comes from a combination of industrial affiliates and unrestricted gifts. The institute expects to fund up to 35 seed projects.