OpenAI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with The Department of Energy's Energy to help accelerate scientific discovery with AI and advanced computing. The collaboration supports DOE’s Genesis Mission, a national initiative to build a powerful scientific platform that strengthens energy innovation and national security, and aligns with OpenAI for Science, our effort to pair frontier models with real research workflows.

Why this matters now

Science advances when researchers can explore more ideas and validate them faster. By applying AI to hypothesis generation, experiment design, code, data, and simulation, scientists can shorten the path from insight to impact. With DOE’s national laboratories and programmes, the scale and diversity of research—from materials and fission to grids and climate—make this collaboration particularly meaningful.

What’s new

• Formal collaboration: An MOU between OpenAI and DOE to explore AI and advanced computing opportunities in support of DOE initiatives, including the Genesis Mission.

• Programme alignment: The work builds on OpenAI for Science, focused on equipping researchers with frontier models and tools in real lab environments.

• Part of a broader push: DOE has announced collaboration agreements with technology leaders to accelerate Genesis; OpenAI is among the organisations supporting the mission.

How the collaboration helps researchers

• Faster cycles of discovery: AI can suggest candidate hypotheses, analyse complex datasets, and help generate code or pipelines to test ideas quickly.

• High-performance environments: Pairing models with advanced computing and supercomputing resources can expand the scale of simulations and data processing integral to DOE science.

• Pathways to lab deployment: The MOU enables discussion of follow-on agreements for specific projects, creating routes to put AI tools in researchers’ hands across national labs.

Areas of potential impact

The Genesis Mission spans discovery science and energy innovation. Potential areas include materials and manufacturing, fission and fusion research, robotics, digital twins for infrastructure, supply chains, and open-source AI—each benefitting from AI-assisted modelling, optimisation, and analysis.

Who benefits

• Scientists and engineers at DOE national laboratories and partner institutions gain access to modern AI tools integrated with their workflows.

• Energy programmes exploring advanced fuels, grid resilience, and decarbonisation can leverage AI to assess options and speed experimentation.

• Wider society, as validated research moves faster into applications that support security, reliability, and cleaner energy systems.

How it fits within the 2025 landscape

The MOU complements DOE’s broader engagement with industry to support Genesis. Recent announcements highlight multi-party contributions—cloud, chips, models, and tooling—aimed at enabling scientific breakthroughs across disciplines at national scale. OpenAI’s role focuses on bringing frontier models and research-ready tools to scientific environments.

What’s next

The MOU frames collaboration areas and creates a path to define specific projects with DOE and lab partners. As those projects take shape, researchers can expect opportunities to integrate model-driven agents, automate repetitive analysis, and co-design AI workflows that respect scientific standards of rigour and reproducibility.

Summary

OpenAI and the U.S. Department of Energy are deepening collaboration to accelerate science with AI and advanced computing. Supporting the DOE’s Genesis Mission and OpenAI for Science, the MOU sets the stage for model-enabled research across national laboratories—helping scientists test ideas faster and translate insights into practical results.

FAQ

Q1: What exactly did OpenAI and DOE agree to?
They signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration on AI and advanced computing in support of DOE initiatives, including Genesis.

Q2: What is the Genesis Mission?
Genesis is DOE’s national initiative to build a powerful scientific platform that accelerates discovery science, strengthens security, and drives energy innovation.

Q3: How does this help scientists at national labs?
It creates pathways to pilot frontier models and AI tools in lab environments, enabling faster hypothesis testing, analysis, and simulation at scale.

Q4: Is this part of a wider DOE–industry effort?
Yes. DOE has announced collaboration agreements with multiple organisations to advance Genesis; OpenAI is one of the participating partners.