The Massachusetts Institute of Technology strives for sustainability in the research environment and for innovations that improve sustainability far beyond campus. At our recent Go Green Symposium for local biologists, the Offices of Sustainability (MITOS) and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) shared their state-of-the-art lab surplus and lab plastic recycling programs. Interestingly, the discussion on conserving resources expanded to a carbon-free, renewable energy source being deployed to “green the grid”. It may sound far-fetched, but your future lab could be powered by seawater fuel.
MIT Uses Progressive Systems to Redistribute Lab Surplus
MIT has goals to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2026 and zero direct campus emissions by 2050 (1). Waste diversion strategies support the institute's commitment to reduce campus trash by 30% by 2030. With 28,000 faculty, researchers, staff, and students, and 350 departments, labs, and centers, these goals are no small feat.
MIT’s Design Out Waste program has made a sizable impact through multiple initiatives. Sustainability and project management professional Dawn Quirk explained the approach to laboratory surplus. The goal is to prevent reagents, materials, and lab equipment from becoming lost resources. Since the 1990s, MIT has addressed scientific surplus with a reuse listserv. The email listserv notifies people on campus and alumni when free items are available for exchange. To reduce chemical waste, the EHS team provides a shared chemical inventory system to facilitate exchanges and recommends that scientists use the Millipore-Sigma DOZNTM Tool to identify opportunities for greener chemistry. MIT was an early adopter of Rheaply, an online platform originally designed to enable scientists to perform “research cheaply” by fostering localized exchange. Since then, this state-of-the-art software has successfully expanded across industries. MIT has 3356 Rheaply users who have exchanged 1194 items for internal reuse. Rheaply is especially effective for getting the word out to postdocs in new labs when there is a lab closeout. The MIT Office of Sustainability is considering whether there is enough local demand from non-profits, biotech startups, or college labs for MIT to utilize Rheaply’s open-access community marketplace.
EHS Helped Design a Benchtop Bin Made from Recycled Lab Plastic
MIT researchers, irked by plastic waste, use single-stream lab recycling for pipette tip boxes. The EHS team makes it easy to participate by running it at no cost to the labs. Scientists submit an online form to request pickups by EHS. MIT Radiation Officer Ryan Samz shared that MIT recycled 70,157 boxes in 2024, offsetting the carbon dioxide equivalent of 1271 gallons of gasoline. The EHS team helped to design the autoclavable and recyclable pipette tip waste bin, made from lab recycled plastics, now used at lab benches around campus. The recycling program has built bridges between scientists and EHS staff, opening up opportunities to work on other sustainability challenges.
MIT EHS members present a popular lab recycling program and challenge biologists to consider a future where small modular reactors safely power energy-intensive research facilities at the Go Green Symposium hosted by Labconscious.
Greening the Grid with Small Modular Fusion Reactors
Mitch Galanek, CHP Director, Institutional Radiation Safety Officer, asked biologists in the audience,” Can you imagine if there were a source of energy that didn’t emit carbon dioxide? Could we reverse some of the damage we’ve done to the planet?” It was an apropos challenge on how we perceive nuclear energy and radiation safety. Most large research campuses use radioactively labeled materials far less in biological research. The sensitivity of alternative detection methods have improved so much. If you haven’t noticed because you’ve had your head in your field of research, you’re forgiven; however, there is widespread optimism these days for nuclear energy, specifically devices called small modular reactors (SMRs).
Energy demand is surging globally, and life science is part of that trend. The majority of industry laboratories are increasing automation to accelerate discovery and clinical analyses. My Green Lab® reports that laboratories consume more energy per square meter than any other sector except data centers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving increased energy demand for data centers. A study by the Electric Power Research Institute predicted that data centers would consume 9% of electricity generated in the U.S. by 2030, up from ~1.8% in 2020. As a matter of course, most areas of biology research plan to lean further into AI.
It just isn’t practical to achieve net-zero carbon emission goals exclusively through energy conservation strategies. The pharmaceutical sector is investing in long-term power purchase agreements to access solar and wind power. Unfortunately, the cost and performance of these renewable energy sources are not equivalent to fossil fuels. New technology for battery storage is a necessity. High-tech Silicon Valley corporations have moved into power agreements with large nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy is not the cheapest option to build out, but it is reliable, carbon-neutral, and economically viable with long-term purchasing commitments.
Mitch Galenek explained that nuclear energy technology is evolving fast. Nuclear power plants employ a process called fission. Fission splits uranium atoms to release energy. Small modular reactors (SMRs) using fission are currently under construction across the world (2). Unlike large power plants, these devices have passive safety systems designed to operate without external electrical power or human intervention. This means no meltdowns. Once safety and operational regulations are satisfied, SMRs can be produced relatively fast in a factory at scales from 1 megawatt (MW) up to 300 MW. SMRs on the lower end are planned for use at individual work sites. SMRs can be designed to operate for ten years without refueling. Some SMR companies plan to sell energy directly to customers. SMRs can use 100 times less land than other renewables for higher energy production.
Can you imagine if there were a source of energy that didn’t emit carbon dioxide? Could we reverse some of the damage we’ve done to the planet?
- Mitch Galanek, CHP Director, Institutional Radiation Safety Officer, MIT
There are drawbacks to fission-based nuclear energy. Spent uranium fuel is highly radioactive and long-lived. Critics argue that radioactive waste, which takes 10,000 years to degrade, is not environmentally friendly.
Galenek noted that SMRs using fission are a synergistic bridge to even better technology. Fusion is a nuclear energy process in commercial development with greater sustainability potential. The U.S., China, Canada, U.K., Japan, Germany, and other countries are rapidly investing in fusion to address climate change and the energy crisis (2). The fusion process fuses deuterium and tritium into helium and energetic neutrons. Deuterium and tritium fuel can be isolated from seawater. Seawater is far more globally accessible than gas, oil, and coal. Fusion byproduct degrades in between 50 and 100 years, compared to 10,000 years for fission radioactive waste.
MIT researchers and MIT spin-out company Commonwealth Fusion Systems recently reported an incredible advance in fusion research (3). They succeeded in developing a new type of superconducting magnet that decreased the cost per watt of a fusion reactor by a factor of almost 40. The innovation is the basis of a fusion reactor called SPARC. Commonwealth Fusion Systems has been contracted by Virginia to build the first commercial fusion power plant. The plant is slated to power a residential power grid in less than ten years.
Labconscious thanks MIT EHS and MITOS for sharing their sustainability efforts! Ultimately, MIT is advancing systems to improve the research environment and open avenues to clean power for all. Sustainability trends in labs certainly open up interesting conversations!
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