The MITTEN “MIT Thermal Energy Network”
Rapid and Cost-Effective Campus Decarbonization Plan
Drawing on their educational and professional experience, a team including members of MIT Alumni for Climate Action (MACA), MIT faculty, and the Geo@MIT student club proposes a thermal energy network (TEN), branded MITTEN for MIT Thermal Energy Network, which the team has shown is the most practical and cost-effective approach to decarbonize MIT or any campus.
MIT has a stated goal of eliminating direct carbon emissions from the campus by 2050. A consulting firm was engaged to provide guidance and create decarbonization pathways for consideration, but the plans presented were all too expensive, some requiring extensive new infrastructure and loss of available property from MIT’s dense campus. Worst, the most modern and cost-effective approach was not even included.
In response, the modern cost-effective plan MITTEN plan to achieve a 100% decarbonized MIT campus by 2035 was developed by the MACA/Geo@MIT team. This group and other alumni are ready to launch a pilot demonstration of this advanced approach to decarbonization as soon as MIT’s administration is ready. Below are a set of links to various products of this work for all to see and learn. The team believes MIT should demonstrate to the world this practical, affordable, and scalable approach to rapidly decarbonize any cluster of buildings.
Breaking News!
Six MIT decarbonization focused professors compared the 6 building demonstration MITTEN 5th generation distributed heat pump campus decarbonization plan with MIT’s hired consultant’s 4th generation central plant plan. Their conclusion included both “we need to deep retrofit our buildings and work towards a 5th generation district system”, exactly what is presented in the MITTEN plan.
The professors further voiced the important observation that “Bold and innovative leadership in campus decarbonization would raise our credibility in interactions with our industry partners and help ongoing fundraising efforts through the MIT Climate Project and beyond.” Rapid initiation of the 5th Generation MITTEN plan is exactly that “bold and innovative leadership in campus decarbonization” that MIT needs.
Video Recording: Introduction to the MITTEN Project (80 min) (1/29/25)
Slides: Introduction to MITTEN Project (1/29/25)
News Article – Inside Climate News (1/29/25)
Summary Report: Decarbonizing the MIT Campus with a Thermal Energy Network (10 pp)
Business Plan: Innovative, Cost-Effective Plan to Fully Decarbonize MIT’S Campus by 2035 (16 pp)
Feasibility Study: Test Fit Report for Distributed Heat Pump Installations at MIT (V1. 85 pp) (9/9/24)
2016 Climate CoLab Winning Proposal
How to Join MIT Alumni for Climate Action (MACA)
MIT Student/Faculty/Alumni Posters for Recent Conferences
