Climate, Energy & Sustainability

The Lab Venture Challenge at CU Boulder has announced the 2026 finalists of bio- and physical sciences innovators to pitch their ideas to a live audience at the Dairy Arts Center for more than $1 million in awards.

CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science—Chunmei Ban, a professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder, has received a Fulbright Global Scholar award to explore the future of energy storage through next-generation battery technologies.

CU Boulder Today—CU Boulder has been named one of the world's leading institutions for climate science, ranking eighth globally in the latest analysis of the most highly cited climate research institutions by Carbon Brief.

Venture Partners capped off its fifth Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator with the 2026 Ascent Deep Tech Community Showcase, where research-based startup teams pitched innovations originating from CU to an audience of investors, entrepreneurs and fellow researchers. The showcase featured ventures developing breakthrough solutions in health, robotics, advanced materials and more.

Larisza Krista, research scientist at CIRES at CU Boulder, was awarded a $600,000 National Science Foundation Translation to Practice—Explore (NSF TTP-E) grant to translate fundamental research on coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) has announced that eight CU Boulder researchers and four startups received funding through the latest round of the Advanced Industries Accelerator Program. The awards, granted through the Proof of Concept and Early-Stage Capital and Retention programs, represent one of the university's strongest performances to date.

CU Boulder has emerged as a leading hub for battery innovation, producing breakthrough research and a series of successful startups—including Solid Power, SiILion, Otoro Energy, Forge Nano and Mana Battery—that are advancing safer, cheaper and more effective energy storage technologies. The university’s unique combination of world-class researchers, entrepreneurial support and industry partnerships has helped transform laboratory discoveries into companies with significant economic and societal impact.

CU Boulder Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI)—Imagine a display that harvests ambient light when it is not actively in use, offsetting some of its own energy consumption. The materials physics shows that this is possible.

CU Boulder and Techstars, the global startup accelerator and investor, have announced a strategic partnership to expand opportunities for founders and strengthen Colorado’s innovation economy.

Commercialization activities through Venture Partners at CU Boulder had an economic impact of $8.7 billion nationally and $5.1 billion in the state of Colorado over the last five years, according to a report from the Leeds School of Business.