Welcome to the Bits & Watts Initiative
The electricity grid is undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation. The mission of Bits & Watts is to engage research, education, and industry to anticipate that change and find innovative and sustainable solutions to power the 21st century electric grid.
The electricity grid is undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation. The mission of Bits & Watts is to engage research, education, and industry to anticipate that change and find innovative and sustainable solutions to power the 21st century electric grid.
Bits & Watts Flagship on Sustainably Powering AI
AI offers enormous potential for a sustainable future, leveraging the vast amount of data in the energy system to optimize everything from battery management to changing energy markets to grid operation and planning. But this intellectual power comes at the cost of electrical power, and lots of it. The rapid growth of AI is straining the existing power grid.
In response to the challenges presented by AI, Bits & Watts Initiative is launching a new flagship program on Sustainably Powering AI. Over the next two years, the program will foster collaboration between Stanford researchers, global utilities, IT companies, and data center developers in addressing the difficulties of meeting the demands of AI while continuing the transition to a cleaner energy future.
Learn more about the flagship here.
News
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Universities like Stanford have a transparency gap on their AI electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions data that can easily be fixed, Stanford Master of Liberal Arts candidate Utsav Gupta writes in The Stanford Daily.
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The convergence of EVs, autonomous driving, and AI represents one of the biggest opportunities in climate tech, explains Liang Min, managing director of Bits & Watts, the Precourt Institute’s smart grid initiative. Also, he says, we're charging our cars at the wrong time.
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Significant areas of North America’s western electricity grid are underutilized and good places to build data centers and new generators, a new study finds. Also, targeting replacement, refurbishment, and added flexibility of transmission assets should be prioritized while waiting for new transmission lines to be built.
Upcoming Events
Education
Explore our educational offerings.
Smart Grid Seminar Education for Industry Wildland Fire Seminar Series
Research
Learn about our research programs.
Seed Grants EV50 Flagship Project Precourt Pioneering Projects Member Collaboration Projects
Join us
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