CSU Energy Institute Powering the Future: Bringing Science to Solutions to Scale 2026 Impact Report
- Dan Powers
- Jun 25
- 1 min read
Colorado State University's Energy Institute is one of CO-LABS' key partners and a clear example of what Colorado's federal research ecosystem makes possible. The Powerhouse Energy Campus in Fort Collins is one of the largest university-based energy research facilities in the country, and the Energy Institute has spent nearly 35 years turning research into deployable energy and carbon solutions, drawing on faculty from across CSU and deep industry partnerships. Its newly updated 2026 Impact Report, Powering the Future: Bringing Science to Solutions to Scale, lays out the scope of that work and where it's headed next.
The report quantifies an impressive track record: over 200 million tons of CO2 emissions eliminated through Powerhouse-developed solutions, more than $160 million in energy research expenditures, 3,500-plus students trained, 30-plus cleantech startups launched, and 50 companies currently housed on campus. It organizes this impact around three pillars—Energy and Carbon Solutions, Experiential Learning, and Entrepreneurial Scale-Up—and walks through active work in methane detection (METEC), grid modernization, nuclear and fusion energy, data center efficiency, and AI-enabled energy systems.
It also spotlights the Center for the New Energy Economy's bipartisan policy work, startups like AtmosZero and NitroCat, and education programs that have reached more than 13,500 K-12 students across Colorado.
For anyone tracking the value of Colorado's federal research labs, the report is a useful look at how scientific capacity translates into companies, jobs, workforce development, and real-world climate and energy solutions—exactly the kind of impact CO-LABS exists to make visible.
Download the full Impact Report.
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