DOE Awards Brookhaven Lab $14M to Build AI Grid Planning Model

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Brookhaven National Laboratory to lead a $14.2 million effort to develop an AI-powered grid foundation model capable of simulating one billion scenarios for electric grid expansion in a single day.

The three-year project, announced September 1 by DOE Assistant Secretary Catherine Jereza, represents the eighth Genesis Mission award associated with Stony Brook University. Brookhaven will receive $3.9 million directly, with remaining funds distributed among collaborating institutions including Stony Brook University, the New York Power Authority, Long Island Power Authority, National Grid, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Why it matters

As electricity demand surges from data centers, electric vehicles, and industrial electrification, utilities face mounting pressure to expand grid capacity quickly. Traditional planning methods can take months or years to evaluate new load scenarios. An AI system that compresses this timeline to hours could fundamentally reshape how America builds out its energy infrastructure—turning AI from a grid burden into a planning accelerator.

Building GridFM at scale

The Grid Foundation Model (GridFM) initiative aims to deliver what principal investigator Hendrik Hamann calls a tool for "optimal accuracy, affordability and operational efficiency" in grid planning. Hamann, Brookhaven's chief AI scientist for Innovation, Science, and Security and a professor at Stony Brook's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, emphasized the project's potential to transform AI's relationship with the grid.

"AI is often seen as a growing burden on the electric grid, but through the Genesis Mission we have an opportunity to turn that challenge into an advantage," Hamann said.

The GridFM initiative has grown into a community effort spanning more than 150 organizations across industry, academia, and government. The collaboration model pairs utilities—which contribute operational data and system experience—with researchers and technology providers who supply AI expertise and computing resources.

Genesis Mission expansion

The funding comes through the Genesis Mission Phase II Request for Application, administered by DOE's Office of Electricity. The Genesis Mission represents DOE's effort to build what it calls "the world's most powerful integrated science discovery platform" by combining AI, supercomputing, quantum systems, and advanced scientific instruments.

Stony Brook University is expanding its Genesis Mission portfolio. Yixin "Berry" Wen, an assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and the Institute for Advanced Computational Science, recently secured another Phase II award to develop AI methods for hyperlocal precipitation, runoff, and flood-risk information for U.S. energy systems. Six Stony Brook researchers were among the initial Phase II awards announced in July.

Brookhaven Lab Director John Hill framed the award as validation of the lab's ability to address national challenges. "As electricity demand continues to grow, we need new approaches to strengthen, expand and efficiently operate the nation's electric grid," Hill said.

Details of the project were first reported by Stony Brook Matters.