ExxonMobil has signed an agreement to become a founding member of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), a unique collaboration aimed at working together to advance and explore the future of energy. MIT President Rafael Reif and TJ Wojnar, Jr., president of ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE), launched the collaborative effort during a ceremony at MIT.
“At MIT, we find that working closely with industry alerts us to real-world problems and opportunities for progress. There is simply no better way to ensure that our research has an impact in the world,” said MIT President Rafael Reif. “That concept is at the heart of our long and successful relationship with ExxonMobil. In choosing to join MITEI, ExxonMobil is increasing the scope and breadth of our collaboration, demonstrating a strong commitment that intensifies our shared focus on inventing the future of energy technologies.”
“ExxonMobil has had a long and productive relationship with the outstanding faculty and students at MIT. This new agreement will enable us to explore new ideas and new areas of research by partnering with some of the brightest researchers across a wide range of disciplines,” said Wojnar. “If we are going to continue to meet the world’s growing energy demand, we need to leverage partnerships such as this one with MITEI to help find efficient, scalable and responsible ways to bring affordable energy to global markets.”
Through this new agreement, ExxonMobil will collaborate with MIT on a wide range of projects, including research to improve and expand renewable energy sources and find more efficient ways to produce and use conventional hydrocarbon resources. The agreement will also be utilized to establish 10 graduate energy fellowship appointments each year at MIT (ExxonMobil Energy Fellows). These fellowships will support operating costs and expenses for talented graduate students while they pursue their selected areas of study and research.
At the core of ExxonMobil’s businesses are several key research organizations that work collaboratively on new technologies. ExxonMobil conducts cutting-edge R&D through a combination of in-house efforts, collaborations with industry partners, and sponsored research at academic and nongovernmental institutions. This latest investment significantly increases its long-term partnership with MIT and is part of a larger, ongoing effort by the company to explore early stage innovative projects through partnerships with other leading universities around the world.
“The MIT Energy Initiative is a great example of a university-industry collaboration that is searching for technological solutions to the world’s current and future energy challenges. Access to reliable and abundant sources of energy is and will continue to be essential for societal progress,” said Wojnar.
