Solar Radiation Management
The Simons Foundation’s Solar Radiation Management program funds international research to advance scientific understanding and modeling of SRM materials, methods, and atmospheric impacts for climate intervention.
Funder: Simons Foundation
Due Dates: October 6, 2026: Letter of Intent (LOI) submission deadline (by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time) | February 17, 2027: Full proposal submission deadline (by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time)
Funding Amounts: Up to $1.5M total per award (inclusive of 20% indirects) over 3 years; typical annual budget ~$500K; up to 13 awards expected.
Summary: Supports international collaborative research to address critical scientific gaps in solar radiation management (SRM) methods, materials, and modeling for climate intervention.
Key Information: Field experiments and social science projects are not eligible; funding is not available to institutions in China or Hong Kong.
Description
The Simons Foundation’s Solar Radiation Management program, under its Mathematics and Physical Sciences division, funds international collaborative research addressing fundamental knowledge gaps in the science of solar radiation management (SRM). The initiative targets laboratory and modeling studies of SRM approaches such as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), marine cloud brightening (MCB), and cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), with the goal of advancing understanding of materials, atmospheric interactions, and integration into climate models. The program does not support field experiments involving aerosol release or social science research. It aims to inform decision-making regarding the feasibility, risks, and potential impacts of SRM as a climate intervention strategy.
Priority areas include:
- Discovery of environmentally benign materials for SAI and CCT
- Laboratory physicochemical characterization of SRM materials and their atmospheric interactions
- Modeling approaches to minimize cirrus cloud formation
- Assessment of near-field atmospheric turbulence and its impact on SRM interventions
- Integration of improved aerosol and turbulence representations into global-scale climate models
Collaborative and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged, especially those bringing new perspectives or involving underrepresented regions (notably the Global South).
