In the world of energy entrepreneurship, MIT’s course 15.366, better known as MIT Climate & Energy Ventures, is making headlines as a major force in clean energy commercialization.
The course has played a pivotal role in decarbonizing the sprawling energy sector, successfully spinning out more than 60 sustainability-focused companies.
15.366 describes itself as a “project—and lecture-based course” that combines cross-disciplinary research and on-the-ground experience. The program pairs teams of students from engineering, policy, and business disciplines with technologies and ideas developed at MIT and nearby labs to identify the most effective strategy for commercialization. Aspiring entrepreneurs develop the venture’s business strategy and market entry plans throughout the semester, honing their leadership skills and business acumen along the way.
According to MIT News, alumni who went on to complete the course have successfully founded more than 150 companies.
“The goal is to educate entrepreneurs on how to start companies in the climate and energy space,” Senior Lecturer Tod Hynes, who co-founded the course and has been lecturing since 2008, told MIT News. “We do that through hands-on experience. We require students to engage with customers, talk to potential suppliers, partners, investors, and to practice their pitches to learn from that feedback.”
Since its founding in 2007, MIT’s Climate & Energy Ventures class has raised more than $1 billion in funding. A 2015 report published by MIT found that alumni-founded companies generated nearly $2 trillion in annual global revenue and employed 4.6 million people worldwide. The report concluded that if MIT were a nation, it would surpass India, the world’s 10th largest economy ($1.877 trillion), in terms of GDP ($1.9 trillion).
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Some MIT-backed startups include Ayar Labs, a San Jose-based AI-powered semiconductor firm that won the 2015 MIT Clean Energy Prize. In December, Ayar Labs secured $155 million in new funding, bringing its total capital to $370 million. It is now considered a ‘unicorn’ in the energy sector.
Other notable spinouts include Infinite Cooling, an award-winning water recovery startup, and MIT Fusion Systems, which unveiled plans to construct the world’s first grid-scale fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, VA.
Beating climate change calls for investing in innovative technologies from the outset. MIT’s Climate & Energy Ventures program proves that backing breakthrough ideas and promoting energy entrepreneurship––whether from students or the private sector––can drive real progress toward achieving our climate goals.
