Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund

Advancing Climate and Sustainability-Related Solutions for Global Impact

Harvard’s Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund will propel climate and sustainability-related innovations towards startup formation.

Co-sponsored by Harvard’s Office of Technology Development and the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard, the Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund will provide essential gap funding for Harvard innovations focused on climate and sustainability to develop towards startup formation. In addition to funding, awardees will benefit from mentoring and guidance towards startup formation, creating the next generation of solutions to ensure a cleaner and healthier future.

The Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund provides principal investigators employed by Harvard University with:

• Financial support to fuel translational research and the development of technologies toward startup formation.
• Commercial expertise to help faculty investigators successfully navigate the transition of their technologies from the academic lab to commercial impact.
• Pathways to partnership, helping generate licensing opportunities, facilitate startup formation and investment, and realizing other commercialization avenues for novel technologies.

Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund Awardees

In 2024, Harvard Office for Technology Development and the Salata Institute announced the fund’s first awardees, supporting four research projects that offer solutions to global climate and sustainability challenges.

The four research projects receiving the 2024 Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund awards are:

• Bacteria Strains to Improve Carbon Capture and Storage
• Electrified hydrogen peroxide production and advanced green oxidation
• Bionic Leaf-C at manufacturing scale-up
• Photonic materials for sustainable packaging

Explore the project descriptions and learn more about the Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund here.

2026 Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund

The 2026 Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund Awards will fund up to $100,000 per project.

The 2026 Climate and Sustainability Translational Fund Accelerator Awards Request for Proposals will open in Spring 2026.

Principal Investigators whose employer is Harvard University are eligible to apply, and projects are welcomed in any area of applied sciences, physical sciences, environmental sciences, computer sciences, or engineering with a focus on climate and sustainability solutions.