EFI Foundation
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What EFI Foundation does
EFI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization headquartered at 900 17th St. NW, Suite 1100, Washington, D.C. It was founded in June 2017 by Ernest J. Moniz, the 13th U.S. Secretary of Energy, alongside Joseph Hezir and Melanie Kenderdine, and was rebranded from the Energy Futures Initiative to EFI Foundation in January 2023. Its mission is to deliver evidence-based, nonpartisan analysis and convening across the U.S. energy transition. The organization employs more than 70 energy experts and operates a portfolio of signature research initiatives rather than commercial products: the Energy Innovation Project (a federal energy spending and project deployment data hub), a ledger-based Carbon Accounting Framework, the Nuclear Scaling Initiative (co-founded with CATF and NTI to scale to 50+ GW/year), the Energy Futures Finance Forum (EF3, analyzing private capital barriers to decarbonization), the Hydrogen Demand Initiative (H2DI, led under DOE selection with S&P Global, ICE, RMI, and Dentons), and the U.S. Energy & Employment Report (USEER, produced with NASEO and BW Research). Its outputs include 80+ reports, 12 congressional testimonies, and 100+ workshops annually.
EFI Foundation's business model is grant- and donation-funded, not commercial. Revenue derives from tax-deductible individual donations (including the Innovators Circle of major donors), philanthropic grants (notably a $3.5M Bezos Earth Fund grant in January 2026 to NSI), and project-based sponsored research from government agencies, foundations, and private-sector partners — with explicit firewalls ensuring funders have no control over methodology or recommendations. Go-to-market is dissemination-led: all analysis is published publicly on efifoundation.org, complemented by a monthly newsletter, active social channels (LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok), direct congressional and executive-branch briefings, workshops, and editorial placements in major outlets (WSJ, LA Times, The Hill, Politico). Its primary beneficiaries are federal and state policymakers, energy-sector professionals, labor organizations, and community leaders engaged in the clean-energy transition.
EFI Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- EFI Foundation
- Legal name
- EFI Foundation
- Website
- https://efifoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
EFI Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Energy Policy Research and Analysis
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- ESG & Sustainability Research (FSACAGAH), Sustainability, ESG & Climate Finance Risk (EDABAJAO)
Keywords
Where EFI Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington, D.C.
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
EFI Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals, particularly the Innovators Circle select group of major donors who provide flexible resources for analytical and convening activities.
- Project-based Funding: Sponsored research projects funded by a variety of sponsors including government agencies, foundations, and private sector partners. Funders have no control over methodology, analysis, and recommendations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
EFI Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
EFI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization that conducts independent, evidence-based analysis on energy innovation, decarbonization, and energy policy. It delivers research reports, policy frameworks (including a ledger-based carbon accounting system), federal energy data aggregation, and stakeholder convenings aimed at informing U.S. and global energy transition decisions. Outputs are publicly available to policymakers, industry, labor, and community leaders at no cost.
Product overview
EFI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization that advances evidence-based solutions to complex energy challenges. Rather than offering commercial software products, EFIF provides research initiatives and frameworks including: the Energy Innovation Project (a federal energy data aggregation platform), the Carbon Accounting Framework (a ledger-based carbon accounting methodology), the Nuclear Scaling Initiative, the Energy Futures Finance Forum, the U.S. Energy & Employment Report, and the Hydrogen Demand Initiative. These are policy research tools and frameworks, not commercial technology products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Energy Innovation Project A comprehensive data hub that aggregates federal energy innovation data, tracking where federal energy dollars are flowing, how quickly projects are deploying, and government workforce capabilities to deliver energy innovation. For policymakers and energy researchers.
- Carbon Accounting Framework A ledger-based carbon accounting system built on engineering fundamentals and financial accounting principles that records carbon stocks and flows with transparency and consistency, enabling product-level metrics that reconcile directly with entity-wide emissions. For industry, policymakers, and researchers.
- Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI) A collaboration with Clean Air Task Force and Nuclear Threat Initiative to build a global ecosystem capable of deploying 50+ gigawatts of new nuclear capacity annually through coordinated buyer orderbooks. For federal, state, and commercial nuclear energy stakeholders.
- Energy Futures Finance Forum (EF3) An initiative that identifies barriers to private investment in clean energy and offers actionable policy solutions to scale financing and accelerate deployment of decarbonization technologies. For private capital investors, financial institutions, and clean energy developers.
- U.S. Energy & Employment Report (USEER) The nation's leading analysis of energy-sector jobs, produced with NASEO and BW Research, tracking workforce trends in clean energy across all 50 states. For policymakers, labor organizations, and energy workforce researchers.
- Hydrogen Demand Initiative (H2DI) An initiative selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to help accelerate commercial adoption of clean hydrogen, partnering with S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange, RMI, and Dentons. For hydrogen industry stakeholders and policymakers.
Companies that use EFI Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
EFI Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
EFI Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)coreCo-founded the Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI) with CATF and NTI to catalyze and build a new nuclear energy ecosystem capable of scaling to 50+ GW annually.
- Clean Air Task Force (CATF)coreCo-founded the Nuclear Scaling Initiative (NSI) to enable rapid expansion of safe and secure nuclear energy through partnerships.
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)coreSelected by DOE to lead the Hydrogen Demand Initiative (H2DI) to accelerate commercial adoption of clean hydrogen, in partnership with S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange, RMI, and Dentons.
- Bipartisan Policy CentermajorEF3 framing report launched at the Bipartisan Policy Center; ongoing collaboration on energy finance analysis.
- AFL-CIOcoreFormed the Labor Energy Partnership (LEP) to conduct policy-relevant research and make recommendations to build a clean energy future, supporting 7.5 million energy sector workers.
- NASEO (National Association of State Energy Officials)corePartnership to restore and produce the U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), providing continuity with previous editions in data collection and accuracy.
- BW ResearchmajorCollaborated with NASEO and BW Research to produce the annual U.S. Energy & Employment Report.
- Breakthrough EnergymajorProject-based partnership focusing on clean energy innovation research and analysis.
- The Linden Trust for ConservationmajorProject-based partnership for conservation and climate-related research initiatives.
- S&P GlobalcorePartner in Hydrogen Demand Initiative; Martina L. Cheung, President & CEO of S&P Global, serves on EF3 Advisory Board.
- Africa50majorAlain Ebobissé, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50, serves on EF3 Advisory Board.
- CeramicmajorMindy S. Lubber, Chief Executive Officer & President of Ceres, serves on EF3 Advisory Board.
- Mission Possible PartnershipmajorCharles O. Holliday Jr., Executive Chairman of Mission Possible Partnership, serves on EF3 Advisory Board.
- National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)coreProduced the U.S. Energy & Employment Report (USEER) in collaboration with BW Research; restored the report when Trump administration dropped production.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights5 records
EFI Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Third Way: Center-left think tank with an active clean-energy and climate program focused on market-oriented decarbonization policy. Operates in the same Washington policy-influence space as EFI Foundation and addresses overlapping energy-innovation audiences.
- Brookings Institution — Energy Security and Climate Initiative: Major D.C. think tank with a long-running energy and climate program covering decarbonization policy, markets, and geopolitics. Competes for the same donor pool and congressional attention as EFI Foundation.
- Atlantic Council — Global Energy Center: International affairs think tank with a Global Energy Center covering energy transition, finance, and geopolitics. Comparable in producing senior-level convenings and policy analysis on clean-energy strategy at scale.
- Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC): Washington, D.C.-based think tank producing cross-aisle policy analysis. EFIF launched its EF3 framing report at BPC and collaborates on energy-finance analysis, making BPC a partner-as-peer in energy/climate policy work.
Emerging players
- Climate Central: Nonprofit that produces climate-science communications, data, and visual content for media and policymakers. Partial overlap with EFIF's policy-outreach and clean-energy communications work, though focused more on climate science than energy systems.
Direct peers
- World Resources Institute (WRI): Global research organization working on climate, energy, and sustainable development. Overlaps with EFIF on clean-energy policy analysis and convening across decarbonization, finance, and energy access, with a significantly larger global footprint.
- Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): Independent nonprofit energy research and policy organization that works on decarbonization, clean energy finance, and industrial transition — directly comparable mission and donor base to EFI Foundation, and an active partner on H2DI.
- Resources for the Future (RFF): Long-established independent nonprofit conducting economics and policy research on energy, environmental, and natural-resource issues — directly comparable as a rigorous, nonpartisan research shop informing U.S. federal energy and climate policy.
- Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI): Nonprofit focused on nuclear security and nonproliferation with an expanding energy-security portfolio. Co-founder of the Nuclear Scaling Initiative with EFI Foundation and CATF, serving a closely overlapping policy and donor audience.
- Clean Air Task Force (CATF): Nonprofit focused on climate and air-quality policy with deep technical work on advanced nuclear, hydrogen, and carbon management. Directly comparable programmatic portfolio and a co-founder of the Nuclear Scaling Initiative with EFI Foundation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
EFI Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceEFI Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
EFI Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
EFI Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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EFI Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about EFI Foundation
What does EFI Foundation do?
EFI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization that conducts independent, evidence-based analysis on energy innovation, decarbonization, and energy policy. It delivers research reports, policy frameworks (including a ledger-based carbon accounting system), federal energy data aggregation, and stakeholder convenings aimed at informing U.S. and global energy transition decisions. Outputs are publicly available to policymakers, industry, labor, and community leaders at no cost.
Is EFI Foundation a public or private company?
EFI Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was EFI Foundation founded?
EFI Foundation was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is EFI Foundation based?
EFI Foundation is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, in the North America region.
How does EFI Foundation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are project-based Funding.
Who are EFI Foundation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Third Way, Brookings Institution — Energy Security and Climate Initiative, Atlantic Council — Global Energy Center and Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). Climate Central is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are World Resources Institute (WRI), Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Resources for the Future (RFF), Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Clean Air Task Force (CATF).
Does EFI Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for EFI Foundation.
What industry is EFI Foundation in?
EFI Foundation's product category is Energy Policy Research and Analysis. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAM, Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of FSACAGAH, ESG & Sustainability Research. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8700.