The Materials for Energy (M4E)

Mission InnovationMission Innovation | Discovery Zone | The Materials for Energy (M4E)

The Materials for Energy (M4E) Innovation Community aims to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced materials for clean energy technologies. Given that materials represent up to 80% of the cost of clean energy technologies, actions to make solutions more affordable will be required to bring down the cost of clean technology deployment and meet ambitious climate targets. 

News

  • [November 2025] M4E recently attended the IEA EIF forum held on 29 October 2025 in Toronto, Canada and supported the Head of Secretariat in her role chairing the Opportunities for AI in Clean Energy Technology Innovation panel. The work of M4E on supporting collaboration across governments for standardization in accelerated materials discovery was showcased.
  • [November 2025] M4E co-leads, the European Commission and Canada, have both launched AI in Science initiatives:
    • The EU has launched the €107M pilot of RAISE – the Resource for Artificial Intelligence Science in Europe, funded through Horizon Europe. AI resources will include computational power, data, talent and research funding across the EU Member States and the private sector, to drive both the development of frontier AI and AI-enabled scientific progress. For more information click here.
    • Canada, through Natural Resources Canada, OERD, announces a funding call for AI for Canadian Energy Innovation. Apply before December 4, 2025, details here.
  • [November 2025] M4E co-lead, Natural Resources Canada, Canmet MATERIALS lab released a technical report on the Powder Metallurgy Processing System, the first automated mechatronics platform for alloy and metal processing, funded by the Government of Canada. This first-of-its-kind platform was designed for faster, repeatable, reliable, synthesis of custom allows from powder based on unique recipes or compositions in a non-oxygenated environment, and can be used for applications such as automotive light weighting or thermoelectric material development. The report release represents Canada’s commitment to knowledge sharing and widespread uptake of the accelerated materials discover approach. Access the report here
  • [September 2024] Building on a strong foundation of work since 2018 and a two-part workshop series associating policy makers, industry, researchers, innovators, and investors, M4E has designed a set of further actions, for accelerating the discovery and access to market of advanced / alternative materials for sparing rare planet resources while supporting the transition towards clean energy at a global level and in a fair way. Read the action plan HERE.
  • [June 2024] The Mission Innovation Materials for Energy co-leads invite you to join in the second and final workshop session of the series, “International Cooperation on Innovative Materials”. The hybrid workshop will be hosted at the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) Adlershof facility in Berlin, Germany, on 14 June 2024, from 9:00 – 16:00 CEST. Please find the session agenda and concept note for more information.

    This session will focus on formalizing a proposed action plan, with concrete steps outlined in the context of enabling researchers across multiple streams in accelerating the development of advanced materials for the green and digital transition. This workshop will also see the development of a declaration for endorsement at the Mission Innovation Ministerial.

  • [February 2024] The European Commission has become a co-lead of the Materials for Energy Innovation Community, joining Germany and Canada.
  • Apply now! StoRIES International Researcher Exchange Programme on Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs) and related technologies for improving Energy Storage Applications (deadline January 15, 2023)

Objectives

  • Through coordinated international collaboration, exchanges, training and sharing of infrastructure, M4E will support the establishment of a network of autonomous or self-driving laboratories (MAPs). 
  • To convene the international community through collaborative projects and infrastructure alignment, and deploy MAPs around the world . 
  • To train the next generation of highly skilled talent. 
  • To transfer innovative technologies to industry partners for commercialization. 
  • Accelerate the rate of discovery and development of materials by a factor of 10. 
  • Support MI2.0 Mission clean technology R&D needs. 

Co-Leads:   Canada, European Commission, Germany

Participants: Canada, Germany,    India,    Norway,    Denmark,    Italy,

Activities

  • Hosting of webinars, Community of Practice sessions, panel discussions, workshops.  
  • Coordinated international collaboration (leveraging local resources), joint training and exchanges, infrastructure sharing and alignment with initiatives such as Acceleration Consortium and the German Canadian Materials Acceleration Centre. 
  • Share experience and learning from the new Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs) focused on batteries, thermo-electrics, organic solar cells, light emitting diodes and others have been launched e.g., organic solar cells Project Ada, Battery 2030 +. 
  • Development of joint projects (leveraging local resources).  
  • Supporting research exchanges and workshops.
  • Alignment and engagement with other initiatives that may benefit from advanced materials, such as MI Missions.   
  • For more information about Material Acceleration Platform (MAP) projects around the world, check out our interactive map below. If you have a MAP project that you would like to add to the map, please contact us.

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