Since 2008, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has supported the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, offering crucial start-up funding via the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (CEC). In addition to its financial contributions, the Commonwealth has also provided valuable strategic guidance through Patrick Cloney, Executive Director of the CEC and former Commissioner Philip Giudice of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, both long-standing members of the CSE's Board of Advisors.

From 2008 to 2009, Fraunhofer CSE acted as a technical advisor on Governor Deval Patrick's Zero Net Energy Building (ZNEB) Task Force, providing insights and recommendations towards establishing a statewide energy-efficient building strategy. "Getting to Zero", the Task Force's final report, was released in March 2009.