The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Energy and Environment program looks to achieve its mission and shape the direction of energy systems decarbonization research by examining a wide range of questions through collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship across the social and natural sciences. Many of the grants awarded by the program advance projects led by early- and mid-career researchers, strengthen the link between research and practice, seed new efforts and extend work in new directions, and facilitate partnerships with other funders. The program’s predominant geographic focus is the United States

• Energy Markets and Policy Analysis: This topic reflects the program’s ongoing and longstanding interest in supporting scholarship that examines issues related to how energy markets function, assesses the impact of energy policies implemented at various levels of government, and thinks about the design and functionality of key institutional mechanisms across the energy system. Electricity generation, transmission, and distribution systems are undergoing rapid transformation and warrant further study to understand how they are likely to evolve in the years ahead.
• Net Zero Innovation and Negative Emissions Technologies: Many recent analyses have suggested that the development and deployment of net zero innovation and negative emissions technologies need to be scaled-up quickly and dramatically. The Foundation looks to help advance activities that examine the factors that contribute to net zero energy innovation and explore both the opportunities and challenges faced by emerging negative emissions technologies.
• Transportation and Mobility: The program is interested in supporting projects that look to understand how transportation and mobility systems are changing. Potential activities could explore a range of questions related to the rise of electric, autonomous, and shared personal transportation vehicles, in addition to studying how heavy-duty transport, commercial shipping, and the movement of freight might be impacted by these and related developments.
• Energy and Distributional Equity: There is a short supply of research looking to understand how changes in the energy system might have differing impacts on various populations and across different racial, ethnic, or income groups. The program looks to support research that illuminates how changes in the energy system might be better designed to include these populations in a more comprehensive manner.
• Industrial Decarbonization: The program aims to support studies that examine a range of emerging economic, social, policy, and technological developments that offer more promise going forward and help to understand how this component of the energy transition might be accelerated. Additionally, the program is looking to consider research that examines the promise and challenges faced by various developments that could enhance industrial decarbonization, such as the rise of digital economy or distributed manufacturing.
• Energy Systems and Climate Adaptation: While the transition toward low-carbon energy systems is needed to address climate change, recent events have showed that climate change is already having a distinct impact on energy systems. The program seeks to support research that can help better quantify the climate change impacts on different components of energy infrastructure or study how energy systems may need to be redesigned to mitigate against potential climate risks in the future.

• Generate Novel Research: The primary focus of this program is to build an impartial science, technology, engineering, economics, and social science knowledge base as a public good.
• Train the Next Generation of Scholars and Practitioners: The program looks to train the next generation of scholars and practitioners capable of analyzing and addressing a wide range of research questions relevant to decarbonizing the energy system.
• Build Multidisciplinary Networks: The program aims to foster new collaborations and strengthen existing research networks to enhance the effectiveness of research, training, and knowledge dissemination.
• Disseminating Information for Decision-making: The program helps grantees share impartial research findings to inform the development of policies and practices that can help accelerate the societal transition toward low-carbon energy systems.

The program is particularly interested in considering projects that reflect the following core characteristics:

• Interdisciplinary, Integrative, and Collaborative: The program looks to support collaborative research, training, networking, and dissemination efforts that link scholars from different disciplines and institutions. While the program’s focus is largely rooted in the social sciences, it also looks to advance multidisciplinary collaborations with scholars in basic science and engineering disciplines as well. 
• Leadership by Early- and Mid-Career Researchers and the Training of Students: The program looks to focus its support for faculty at the Assistant and Associate Professor level and provide resources for training students at doctoral and post-doctoral levels.
• Linking Research with Practice: The program looks to advance research that facilitates scholars working with stakeholders in government, industry, and non-governmental organizations.
• Timely, Catalytic, and Gap-Filling: The program looks to provide resources to seed new projects, extend existing research in important new directions, or fill information gaps that are otherwise unaddressed.
• Facilitating Partnerships with Other Funders: The program looks for opportunities to support projects that can pursue and secure additional funding from other sources.