Exxon Mobil will become the first founding member of the new Stanford Strategic Energy Alliance, an initiative that will examine ways to improve energy access, security and technology while reducing impacts on the environment. As part of its commitment, ExxonMobil will contribute $20 million in funding over five years to research and develop lower-carbon energy solutions.
The Stanford Strategic Energy Alliance builds on the success of the Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), also led by Stanford, which focused exclusively on low-emissions, high-efficiency energy technologies. Exxon Mobil has sponsored GCEP since its inception in 2002 with a commitment of $100 million and additional contributions toward specific projects. GCEP has evolved into a collaboration of scientists, engineers, researchers and students focused on identifying breakthrough low greenhouse gas emission energy technologies that could be developed and deployed on a large scale.
“ExxonMobil has worked with Stanford to advance low-carbon technologies over the last 15 years, and we’re excited to be the first founding member of this new endeavor,” said Bruce March, president of the Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Company. “Identifying scalable solutions for addressing the dual challenge of supplying energy to meet global demand while minimizing the risk of climate change is one of our core missions. We are continuously looking for ways to improve existing supply options and manufacturing processes while managing carbon intensity.”
The new Stanford Strategic Energy Alliance will pair industry alliance members and Stanford professors who share common research objectives across the spectrum of energy topics from science and engineering to policy and business. Managed by the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy, the alliance will also fund some early-stage research at the direction of its faculty leadership.
