Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, EnergyCapital is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston energy transition. When it comes to the future of energy, Houston has tons of forward-thinking minds hard at work researching solutions to climate change and its impact on Earth. The following research-focused articles that stood out to readers this year — be sure to click through to read the full story.
University of Houston secures $3.6M from DOE program to fund sustainable fuel production
Researchers Rahul Pandey, senior scientist with SRI and principal investigator (left), and Praveen Bollini, a University of Houston chemical engineering faculty, are key contributors to the microreactor project. Photo via uh.edu
A University of Houston-associated project was selected to receive $3.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy that aims to transform sustainable fuel production.
Nonprofit research institute SRI is leading the project “Printed Microreactor for Renewable Energy Enabled Fuel Production” or PRIME-Fuel, which will try to develop a modular microreactor technology that converts carbon dioxide into methanol using renewable energy sources with UH contributing research.
“Renewables-to-liquids fuel production has the potential to boost the utility of renewable energy all while helping to lay the groundwork for the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a clean energy economy,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm says in an ARPA-E news release. Continue reading.
Rice University semiconductor researchers join DARPA-funded Texas team
Researchers from Rice University and the University of Texas have teamed up for semiconductor microsystem innovation. Photo courtesy of UT
A team led by the University of Texas at Austin and partnered with Rice University was awarded $840 million to develop “the next generation of high-performing semiconductor microsystems" for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) selected UT’s Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE) semiconductor consortium to establish a national open access R&D and prototyping fabrication facility.
The facility hopes to enable the DOD to create higher performance, lower power, lightweight, and compact defense systems. The technology could apply to radar, satellite imaging, unmanned aerial vehicles, or other systems, and ultimately will assist with national security and global military leadership. As a member of DARPA’s Next Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) team, Rice’s contributions are key.
Executive vice president for research Ramamoorthy Ramesh and the Rice researchers will focus on technologies for improving computing efficiency. In a Rice press release, Ramesh notes the need to enhance “energy-efficient computing” which highlights Rice’s qualifications to contribute to the solution. Continue reading.
Houston lab develops reactor that sustainably turns waste into ammonia
Led by Haotian Wang (left) and Feng-Yang Chen, the Rice University team published a study this month detailing how its reactor system sustainably converts waste into ammonia. Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University
A team of Rice University engineers has developed a reactor design that can decarbonize ammonia production, produce clean water and potentially have applications in further research into other eco-friendly chemical processes.
Led by Rice associate professor Haotian Wang, the team published a study this month in the journal Nature Catalysis that details how the new reactor system sustainably and efficiently converts nitrates (common pollutants found in industrial wastewater and agricultural runoff) into ammonia, according to the university. The research was supported by Rice and the National Science Foundation.
“Our findings suggest a new, greener method of addressing both water pollution and ammonia production, which could influence how industries and communities handle these challenges,” Wang says in a statement. “If we want to decarbonize the grid and reach net-zero goals by 2050, there is an urgent need to develop alternative ways to produce ammonia sustainably.” Continue reading.
Houston-area researchers score $1.5M grant to develop storm response tech platform
OpenSafe.AI, a new platform that utilizes AI, data, and hazard and resilience models to support storm response decision makers, has secured an NSF grant. Photo via Getty Images
Researchers from Rice University have secured a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their work on improving safety and resiliency of coastal communities plagued by flooding and hazardous weather.
The Rice team of engineers and collaborators includes Jamie Padgett, Ben Hu, and Avantika Gori along with David Retchless at Texas A&M University at Galveston. The researchers are working in collaboration with the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center and the Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice and A&M-Galveston’s Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas.
Together, the team is developing and hopes to deploy “Open-Source Situational Awareness Framework for Equitable Multi-Hazard Impact Sensing using Responsible AI,” or OpenSafe.AI, a new platform that utilizes AI, data, and hazard and resilience models "to provide timely, reliable and equitable insights to emergency response organizations and communities before, during and after tropical cyclones and coastal storm events," reads a news release from Rice. Continue reading.
$360M DOE grant to fund project that will connect ERCOT to US power grid
For the first time, Texas's ERCOT grid will be connected to other states' grids thanks to funding from the Department of Energy. Photo via Getty Images
Thanks to recently announced funding, the power grid for the territory served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) will be connected to grids in other states.
Officials hope building a 320-mile transmission line that connects the ERCOT electric grid to electric grids in the Southeast will prevent power outages like the massive blackout that occurred in 2022 when a winter storm blasted Texas.
San Francisco-based Pattern Energy says its Southern Spirit project will cost more than $2.6 billion. Full-scale construction is supposed to get underway in 2028, and the project is set to go online in 2031. Continue reading.