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AI and Energy Research

Carnegie Mellon University has led energy innovation since the days of Andrew Carnegie’s steel empire.


Today, CMU is also a global pioneer in artificial intelligence, driving breakthroughs at the cutting edge of AI and energy to advance sustainability, resilience, and technological progress. 

To stay ahead of the societal challenges presented by the global AI boom, CMU researchers are advancing critical solutions at the nexus of AI and energy in four main areas:

CMU researchers are forecasting the rising energy demands of AI data centers to inform policymakers and planners, developing strategies to reduce consumption for greater environmental and grid resilience, and exploring how to build the power infrastructure needed to sustainably support this growth.

  • AI and its Growing Energy Demand
  • Sustaining AI Growth Needs Energy and Carbon Efficient Computing Infrastructure
  • Accelerating Safe Microreactors: AI and Knowledge Graphs for Regulatory Reuse and Human-System Integration
  • Building American Self-Reliance In Energy Storage and Critical Minerals
  • ‘AI Fast Lanes’ for an Electricity System to Meet the AI Moment
  • Building the Robust Transmission Capacity Necessary to Power America

Innovation in AI can enable important new capabilities, but this technological revolution can also bring potential new impacts - from increased energy bills to additional pollution to strained resources. CMU researchers are exploring these challenges and forging paths forward to a future where AI infrastructure can be developed sustainably, and in a way that responds to the needs of local communities.

Advances in AI mean increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats. CMU is well positioned to meet these challenges with innovative solutions spun out of the CyLab Robotics Security and Privacy Initiative, which studies the security of autonomous robotics systems; and the Software and Engineering Institute, a research center that is leveraging AI to create a more resilient power grid.

  • CMU’s CyLab Robotics Security and Privacy Initiative: Securing the Future of Autonomous Systems
  • Defending Critical Infrastructure: Leveraging Autonomous Capabilities Against Future Threats
  • Transforming Technology: Improving Defense Energy Systems with AI and Machine Learning
  • AI and National Security: Harden the Grid to Win the Race
  • Securing the Grid: A Call for Rigorous Modeling and Standardization

At CMU, our discoveries don’t stay in the lab. We pride ourselves on cutting edge research and technology - such as inventing new materials for next-generation energy systems and in launching start-ups based on our research.

Our new initiative to build a national network of AI-enabled autonomous laboratories is designed to hypercharge American innovation, shortening scientific problem solving from years to weeks.

  • AI Materials Design: Enabling the Physical U.S. Energy Infrastructure
  • From Research to Commercialization: Encouraging Energy and Climate Tech Entrepreneurship
  • Carnegie Foundry: Bridging the Gap from Lab to Market in AI, Robotics, Energy Innovation & Deep Tech Commercialization
  • The CMU start-up speeding grid innovation
  • Supercharging American Innovation: Harnessing Advances in AI and Automation to Transform Science
  • Opportunities and Chokepoints in AI for Science