The Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP) of the Stanford University will provide $6.6m to advance research on clean-burning fuels and technologies that capture carbon emissions.
This funding will be distributed among seven research teams, of which six teams are from Stanford and a lone one from the Carnegie Mellon University.
GCEP director Sally Benson said that the project is aimed at developing new technologies, which will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
"The proposals in the current round of funding involve potentially game-changing research – from electrochemical technologies that convert CO2 into fuel to analyses of large-scale systems for capturing CO2 from power plants," added Benson.
Of the six Stanford teams, three projects will focus on Steam-carbon fuel cells, high-efficiency thin-film solar cells and advanced water-splitting to develop carbon-neutral technologies.
The remaining two, meanwhile, will work on electrohydrogenation and energy-efficient electrocatalysts to test new electrochemical catalysts that convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuels and chemicals.
Two research teams will also receive funding under the initiative to develop computer models that evaluate the effectiveness of various technologies for capturing CO2 emissions from power plants.
GCEP, sponsored by ExxonMobil, GE, Schlumberger and DuPont, is an industry partnership that supports innovative research on energy technologies.