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Industry Collaboration Index

Sector Award · Energy and climate transition · 2026

Clean Energy Transition: the winner and finalists

10 finalist partnerships, chosen from 260 eligible university and company partnerships in the open record. The winner is listed first; the other finalists follow in alphabetical order of university. The winner in each category is the finalist with the highest partnership score (volume of joint work 40%, years active 30%, field-weighted citation impact 30%) in the frozen Edition 1 record. No panel, nomination or payment plays any part. Winners were announced with the index at 05:30 BST, Thursday 15 October 2026, after the corrections and opt-out window closed at 17:00 BST on Tuesday 13 October.

All award categoriesThe Clean Energy Transition sector index
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Winner · partnership score 88.8, the highest in the category

Massachusetts Institute of Technology×Commonwealth Fusion Systems

United States · company based in United States · 18 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.90
DG
D. GarnierAcademic co-author · Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
DB
D. J. BattagliaIndustry co-author · Commonwealth Fusion Systems · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Implications of vertical stability control on the SPARC tokamak” (2024, 9 citations)
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne×Tokamak Energy

Switzerland · company based in United Kingdom · 11 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.75
CS
Cristian SommarivaAcademic co-author · École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne · 2 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
HS
H.J. SunIndustry co-author · Tokamak Energy · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Interpretative 3D MHD modelling of deuterium SPI into a JET H-mode plasma” (2024, 17 citations)
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KTH Royal Institute of Technology×ABB

Sweden · company based in Switzerland · 12 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.20
FC
Feifan ChenAcademic co-author · KTH Royal Institute of Technology · 5 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
JK
Jarno KukkolaIndustry co-author · ABB · 5 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Enhanced Q -Axis Voltage-Integral Damping Control for Fast PLL-Synchronized Inverters in Weak Grids” (2023, 30 citations)
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Pohang University of Science and Technology×Samsung

South Korea · company based in South Korea · 14 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.21
YN
Yong‐Young NohAcademic co-author · Pohang University of Science and Technology · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
JL
Jun Hyung LimIndustry co-author · Samsung · 2 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“High-performance hysteresis-free perovskite transistors through anion engineering” (2022, 126 citations)
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Simon Fraser University×Ballard Power Systems

Canada · company based in Canada · 25 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.21
EK
Erik KjeangAcademic co-author · Simon Fraser University · 24 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
MD
Monica DuttaIndustry co-author · Ballard Power Systems · 22 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Mitigation of mechanical membrane degradation in fuel cells - Part 1: Gas diffusion layers with low surface roughness” (2021, 42 citations)
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Technische Universität Darmstadt×Siemens

Germany · company based in Germany · 16 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.37
FS
Florian SteinkeAcademic co-author · Technische Universität Darmstadt · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
ST
Sebastian ThiemIndustry co-author · Siemens · 7 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Local energy markets for thermal-electric energy systems considering energy carrier dependency and energy storage systems” (2022, 26 citations)
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University at Buffalo, State University of New York×Giner

United States · company based in United States · 8 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 2.32
GW
Gang WuAcademic co-author · University at Buffalo, State University of New York · 7 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
HX
Hui XuIndustry co-author · Giner · 7 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Atomically dispersed iron sites with a nitrogen-carbon coating as highly active and durable oxygen reduction catalysts for fuel cells” (2022, 748 citations)
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University of California, Irvine×TAE Technologies

United States · company based in United States · 17 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.03
ZL
Zhihong LinAcademic co-author · University of California, Irvine · 5 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
SD
Sean DettrickIndustry co-author · TAE Technologies · 8 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Simulation of equilibrium and transport in advanced FRCS” (2021, 14 citations)
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University of Catania×Enel

Italy · company based in Italy · 15 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.32
GT
Giuseppe Marco TinaAcademic co-author · University of Catania · 12 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
FB
Fabrizio BizzarriIndustry co-author · Enel · 10 joint works in the partnership
“Analysis of water environment on the performances of floating photovoltaic plants” (2021, 106 citations)
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University of Sheffield×Siemens

United Kingdom · company based in Germany · 22 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.32
ZZ
Z. Q. ZhuAcademic co-author · University of Sheffield · 18 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
NF
Nuno M. A. FreireIndustry co-author · Siemens · 8 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Switching-Table-Based Direct Torque Control of Dual Three-Phase PMSMs With Closed-Loop Current Harmonics Compensation” (2021, 37 citations)

Partnership score: volume of joint work 40%, years active 30%, field-weighted citation impact 30% (shrunk toward 1.0 when evidence is thin). Joint works count half where the only company author also holds a post at the university. The named researchers co-wrote the cited paper and represent a wider team. Full rules.