Day one Open Call Idea 2025: Energy and Environment

Climate change threatens nearly every aspect of American society. Smoke-filled air, record high temperatures and more frequent wildfires pose increasing risks to health, economic security and quality of life. To ensure continued prosperity in a warming world, the federal government must build on recent investments in U.S. industry, infrastructure and research systems. We believe that the continued well-being of society and ecosystems requires:

• Deploying next-generation energy technologies through more effective planning, location determination and permitting
• Decarbonizing the built environment with advanced technologies enabled by new markets
• Addressing climate risks and the cascading impacts of hazards through a coordinated, whole-of-government approach

The Day One Project is interested in ideas that fall under the following categories:

Electricity system

Energy system updates are urgently needed to achieve ambitious decarbonization targets and increase energy demand. Commercialization barriers, transmission restrictions and lengthy procedures prevent historic investments in research, development and demonstration from improving the electricity grid. We look for ideas to realize the potential of next-generation energy technology by updating and deploying energy infrastructure more effectively.

Some of the key questions that the Day One Project is interested in include:

• How can the government better enable world-class demonstrations and workforce development for the next generation of energy technologies?
• How can the government prevent major disruptions to energy generation by modernizing the energy network, stabilizing supply chains and building domestic production capacities?
• How can government unlock energy innovation through new models of collaboration among federal agencies, national laboratories, higher education institutions, the private sector, and nonprofits?
• How can government ensure that energy projects are authorized and delivered more quickly in partnership with communities, cities, states and tribal governments?
• How can the federal government enable a more agile, dynamic and risk-tolerant energy research and development enterprise through new models, practices and partnerships that accelerate innovation?

Climate technology, finance and industry

Preventing and reversing the impacts of climate change, and building resilience, requires advancing high-risk technologies through new markets. Industry, transport, buildings and agriculture contribute substantially to total emissions by directly burning fossil fuels or consuming enormous amounts of electricity. We look for ideas to decarbonize high-emitting sectors by scaling advanced technologies and innovation enabled by new markets.

Some of the key questions that the Day One Project is interested in include:

• How can the government drive faster decarbonization in the transportation sector and other high-emitting industries through new standards, methods and technological innovations?
• How can the government model resilient construction practices and standards through its extensive real estate portfolio?
• How can government drive the systemic transformation of the global market for sustainable food and new agricultural technologies?
• How can government attract more catalytic capital for decarbonization initiatives at the state, city, and local levels?
• How can the government ensure the development and scalability of new products and technology that remove carbon from the atmosphere or reduce future emissions?

Climate risk, resilience and governance

Transformative action is needed to prepare the United States for greater risk in a warmer world. We are looking for ideas for a coordinated approach that ensures that governments at all levels can tackle climate migration, changes in the global food system and the cascading impacts of hazards.

Some of the key questions that the Day One Project is interested in include:

• How can government address the major gaps in our understanding of catastrophic climate risks, the uncertainties around how risk events are caused, and thresholds to unlocking positive knock-on effects (e.g. positive tipping points)?
• How can government develop the data, knowledge and decision-support tools that enable decision-makers at all levels to plan and respond under great uncertainty?
• How can government ensure that communities have the capacity to respond to dramatic changes in local climate and, in extreme cases, relocate or adapt to massive population shifts?
• How can the government ensure the continued health and well-being of the population in the face of extreme heat, wildfire smoke and other climate risks?
• How can government promote adaptation and resilience through nature-based solutions and ecosystem services?