Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute

What Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute does

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) is a university-wide academic research institute within Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, established in 2023 to coordinate climate and energy research, education, and outreach across all Rutgers campuses. The institute connects more than 200 affiliated faculty and staff spanning earth system science, renewable energy technology, sustainability governance, environmental humanities, and the human dimensions of climate change, building on approximately 20 years of prior Rutgers-New Brunswick investment in climate science.

RCEI's core offerings are organized around signature research initiatives (the Wind Energy Test Center and C-SAGA), applied programs (Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program, Flood-Resilient New Jersey design primer), and people-development programs including the Clean Energy Fellowship Program with the NJ Board of Public Utilities, Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute Fellowships, Groundwork Grants, Convergence Cafés, and the Creative Expression and the Environment minor. Technology and methodologies include dual-use solar field testing, ecologically centered flood-resilient landscape design, and transdisciplinary convergent research frameworks, supported by partnerships with state agencies, federal funders (NSF, USDA-NIFA), and multi-institutional consortia.

RCEI is a non-commercial academic institute rather than a revenue-generating company. Its operating model is grant-funded: federal research grants (NSF, USDA-NIFA), state agency funding (NJ DEP, NJBPU), and university allocations cover program costs, fellowships, and outreach. Programs, fellowships, and public resources are provided at no cost to participants, and there is no equity structure, investor base, or commercial sales channel. Revenue mechanics are those of an applied research unit embedded within a public state university.

Name

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute

Legal name

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute

Website

https://rcei.rutgers.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) is a university-wide academic research institute within Rutgers University that coordinates climate and energy research, education, and outreach across more than 200 affiliated faculty, funded by federal and state grants and the State of New Jersey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Climate and Energy Research

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Decarbonization Strategy & Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) Advisory (EUABAKAC), Scope 1–3 GHG Inventory Strategy, Data Governance & Controls (advisory) (EUABAKAD)

Keywords

• Climate change research
• Renewable energy research
• Environmental humanities
• Climate adaptation planning
• Sustainability governance

Headquarters

HQ city

New Brunswick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: RCEI operates primarily through research grants from federal agencies (NSF, USDA-NIFA), state agencies (NJ DEP, NJBPU), and other funding sources. The institute supports faculty in grant writing and provides resources for innovative convergent climate change scholarship.
2. Groundwork Grants Program: RCEI awards research and curriculum development grants designed to jump-start innovative approaches to climate change education and scholarship. These grants serve as catalysts for developing competitive external funding proposals.
3. Clean Energy Fellowship Program: A prestigious paid fellowship opportunity offered in collaboration with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), providing specialized hands-on experience within the clean energy sector for current Rutgers graduate students.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) is an academic research institute within Rutgers University that coordinates climate and energy research, innovation, education, and outreach across all Rutgers campuses. It connects over 200 affiliated faculty and staff through fellowship programs, grants, signature research initiatives, symposia, and public resources focused on earth system science, renewable energy, sustainability governance, and environmental humanities.

Product overview

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) is a university research institute (not a commercial product company) that offers climate change research, education, and outreach programs. The portfolio includes fellowship programs (Clean Energy Fellowship, Rutgers Climate and Energy Fellowship), grant programs (Groundwork Grants), signature research initiatives (C-SAGA, W.E.T. Center), the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program, educational resources (Flood-Resilient New Jersey guide, Climate Education Resources), and the Creative Expression and the Environment academic minor. The institute connects faculty, staff, and students through transformative climate change research and innovation, with Convergence Cafés serving as networking and collaboration events across all programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Center on Sustainability and Governance in the Anthropocene (C-SAGA): A research center focused on sustainability and governance in the Anthropocene era
• Wind Energy Test (W.E.T.) Center

Products and services

• RCEI Clean Energy Fellowship Program A prestigious, paid graduate fellowship offered in collaboration with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), providing current Rutgers graduate students specialized, hands-on experience within the clean energy sector.
• Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute Fellowship Fellowship program supporting Rutgers graduate students and early career scholars engaged in climate change and renewable energy scholarship.
• Groundwork Grants Research and curriculum development grants designed to jump-start innovative approaches to climate change education and scholarship, serving as catalysts for developing competitive external funding proposals.
• Center on Sustainability and Governance in the Anthropocene (C-SAGA) A signature initiative focused on the arrangement of systems, processes, and formal and informal rules used to coordinate actions and make decisions on managing resources sustainably, with attention to climate, resource extraction, and Indigenous self-determination.
• Wind Energy Test (W.E.T.) Center A center where scholars from various academic fields explore the science and technology underpinning next-generation wind energy production.
• Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP) A program focused on agrivoltaics (dual-use solar) demonstrating how farms can lower energy needs through solar panels in fields while allowing crops to grow beneath them, with a 'Farmers First' approach to assessing viability in New Jersey.
• Flood-Resilient New Jersey Guide A free, comprehensive guide and resources for New Jersey municipalities to design land more resilient to extreme weather and flooding, based on eight years of research combining engineering, ecology, landscape architecture, and social science.
• Creative Expression and the Environment Minor A multidisciplinary academic minor where undergraduates learn about environmental issues and respond through creative expression in various arts and humanities disciplines.
• Climate Education Resources Educational resources for various audiences including the science-interested public, informal educators, coastal managers, and K-12 educators, including NJ-specific climate change education resources.
• Rutgers Climate Symposium Symposium hosted by RCEI to foster collaboration, disseminate climate and energy research findings, and bring together Rutgers scholars and external partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 258,000+ individuals reached through Rutgers Cooperative Extension programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 July 2026The RCEI Clean Energy Fellowship Program is offered in collaboration with NJBPU, designed to provide current Rutgers graduate students specialized hands-on experience within the clean energy sector.
• Various Rutgers Departments and SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026Groundwork Grants support faculty affiliates from multiple departments including Geography, Human Ecology, Sociology, Art History, Urban Planning, and others to develop collaborative research proposals at the intersection of climate, energy, and sustainability governance.
• Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026Collaborates with Rutgers researchers in the Contested Transitions project examining critical minerals, climate change, and sustainability governance in Greenland.
• Columbia University (Resilient Coastal Communities Project)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026Partnership with Bernadette Baird-Zars's project on co-producing community-led adaptation governance in Greater New York City.
• South Dakota State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026Collaborators from South Dakota State University (Bergstrom, Smith, Martin, Faber) worked with Brooke Maslo on the Flood-Resilient Landscape Primer for New Jersey Communities.
• Stevens Institute of Technology, UCLA, University of South Carolina, UC Davis, National Observatory of AthensminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025Research team members from multiple institutions collaborating on wildfire health and environmental impact research through the Environmental Health Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Center.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Stanford University, University of New Hampshire, NCAR, NASA, George Washington University, Old Dominion University, MBARIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 January 2025Multi-institutional Growing Convergent Research (GCR) project funded by NSF, studying marine viruses, biominerals, microscale physics, and ecosystem interactions on phytoplankton carbon sequestration.
• New Jersey Academic Alliance for Offshore WindcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024The alliance includes Rutgers-New Brunswick and nine other academic institutions throughout New Jersey, formed in 2023 to build on longstanding collaborations and multidisciplinary expertise. Co-led by Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, the collaborative includes Rutgers faculty and staff from all three campuses and over 15 disciplines.
• SUNY ESF and Syracuse UniversityminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 September 2024Joint Environmental Storytelling Series featuring Rutgers science storytellers at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University's Engaged Humanities Network.
• Leading Light Wind (Invenergy and energyRe)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2024RCEI affiliate Josh Kohut, Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences and Co-Chair of the Rutgers Offshore Wind Energy Collaborative, is working with Leading Light Wind team to build the project responsibly via strategic partnerships including support for marine and fisheries research and monitoring tools.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Columbia Climate School: Columbia University's climate-focused school brings together interdisciplinary faculty for climate research, policy, and education. Comparable to RCEI as an academic climate research and education hub with strong policy and governance work.
• Yale School of the Environment: Yale's environment school integrates climate science, policy, and sustainability research across multiple disciplines. Directly comparable to RCEI's multi-disciplinary academic climate research and education focus.
• Woodwell Climate Research Center: An independent climate research institute focused on climate science, policy, and solutions. Comparable to RCEI as a multi-disciplinary climate research organization addressing both human and earth system dimensions.
• University of Michigan Climate and Space Sciences Engineering: University of Michigan's climate science and engineering research hub covering earth systems, climate science, and space weather. Comparable to RCEI's earth system science and renewable energy research components.
• Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment: Stanford's interdisciplinary environmental research institute convenes faculty across schools to address sustainability challenges. Directly comparable to RCEI's interdisciplinary faculty-affiliate model and convergent research approach.
• MIT Climate Project: MIT's flagship climate research initiative coordinates faculty and research across the university. Comparable to RCEI as an academic coordinating body for climate and energy research with strong policy engagement.

Broad incumbents

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UC San Diego): One of the oldest and largest centers for ocean, earth, and atmospheric science research. Comparable to RCEI's marine and coastal research partnerships (e.g., Growing Convergent Research project) and offshore wind collaborations.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): The US Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research. Comparable to RCEI's renewable energy and clean energy research programs, though at much larger scale and federal funding model.

Regional players

• Penn State Center for Climate Risk Management: Penn State's multi-disciplinary climate research initiative coordinating university research on climate risk and resilience. Comparable to RCEI as a state-university-based climate research coordinator serving a regional audience.
• Princeton Climate Institute: Princeton's climate research hub coordinates faculty across departments on climate science and policy. Comparable to RCEI as a regional New Jersey academic climate research coordinator with similar Northeast US focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@RutgersRCEI
• Instagraminstagram.com/rutgersclimateandenergy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/rutgers-climate-and-energy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute