The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) today (Sept 1) announced an $11.5 million research project led by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and supported by partner institutions through President Trump's historic Genesis Mission. The project will develop advanced AI tools to help utilities plan and expand the electric grid faster and more affordably as electricity demand grows.

The project, Foundation Models for the Electric Grid: From Proof of Concept to Real-world Impacts (GridFM 2.0), aims to enable utilities to evaluate 1 billion potential grid scenarios in 24 hours, increase planning throughput by more than 10,000 times, and make key grid calculations more than 1,000 times faster than traditional approaches.

"This project represents a bold step forward to supercharge scientific discovery using artificial intelligence to modernize America's electric grid," said OE Assistant Secretary Catherine Jereza. "By providing utilities enhanced AI tools, they can plan and operate the grid faster, more reliably, and more cost-effectively to help meet the demands of a growing economy while delivering affordable, reliable power for homes and businesses while unleashing American energy dominance."

GridFM 2.0 will enable more comprehensive modeling, so that grid planners and operators have a more robust understanding of grid performance under a wide variety of contingency conditions. These capabilities will help utilities connect new businesses faster, identify more cost-effective investments, avoid unnecessary infrastructure costs, and strengthen grid reliability.

The project will include two deployments with utility partners to demonstrate the technology in real-world settings and accelerate its transition to commercial use.

Designed to double America's scientific productivity and impact, the Genesis Mission brings together DOE's world-class scientific capabilities, advanced AI, high-performance computing, and the nation's leading researchers to accelerate scientific discovery and strengthen American leadership in science and technology.

Learn more about OE's work here.