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Rice, UH launch joint effort to accelerate plastics recycling solutions

plastics partnership

Rice's Baker Institute and UH's Energy Transition Institute have partnered to develop real-world solutions for plastic recycling. Photo courtesy UH

Institutes at two Houston universities are joining forces to help position the city as a global leader in plastics recycling innovation.

The Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the University of Houston’s Energy Transition Institute (UH-ETI) have announced a strategic partnership that aims to develop real-world solutions for plastic recycling.

The universities will kick off the new initiative with the Annual Sustainability Summit: Innovations and Collaborations in Circularity & Supply Chain Resilience event April 22 at the Baker Institute.

“Houston sits at the center of the global plastics and petrochemical value chain, which makes it uniquely positioned to lead in circular solutions,” Rachel Meidl, deputy director of CES, said in a news release. “This partnership is about moving beyond theory and bringing together data, policy and industry insight to accelerate technologies and frameworks that can scale.”

The partnership—which was made official during CERAWeek—will integrate policy, economics, science and engineering. The universities will work to “share data, insights, networks and connections to advance global work in protecting the environment, economy and society,” according to a news release from Rice.

Initially, the universities will focus on evaluating scalable advanced recycling pathways, developing policy frameworks to improve plastics circularity, analyzing emerging technology and using industry stakeholders for deployment.

Plastics circularity aligns with Rice and UH’s energy transition efforts to advance a circular economy. UH's ETI recently published a white paper that analyzes how the U.S. currently handles plastics recycling and advocates for a new approach. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, author of the paper and vice president of energy and innovation at UH, said the partnership with Rice’s Baker Institute could help bring some of the ideas outlined in the paper to reality.

“Our research has shown that a uniform approach may be the best way for the U.S. to tackle plastic waste,” Krishnamoort said in a news release. “By partnering with Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, we will be better positioned to deliver real-world solutions that advance a circular plastics economy.”

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Researchers from the University of Houston believe that aligning state recycling policies could create a circular plastics economy. Photo courtesy UH.

New UH white paper pushes for national plastics recycling policy

plastics paper

The latest white paper from the University of Houston’s Energy Transition Institute analyzes how the U.S. currently handles plastics recycling and advocates for a national, policy-driven approach.

Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for energy and innovation at UH; Debalina Sengupta, assistant vice president and chief operating officer at the Energy Transition Institute; and UH researcher Aparajita Datta authored the paper titled “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Plastics Packaging: Gaps, Challenges and Opportunities for Policies in the United States.” In the paper, the scientists argue that the current mix of state laws and limited recycling infrastructure are holding back progress at the national level.

EPR policies assign responsibility for the end-of-life management of plastic packaging to producers or companies, instead of taxpayers, to incentivize better product design and reduce waste.

“My hope is this research will inform government agencies on what policies could be implemented that would improve how we approach repurposing plastics in the U.S.,” Krishnamoorti said in a news release. “Not only will this information identify policies that help reduce waste, but they could also prove to be a boon to the circular economy as they can identify economically beneficial pathways to recycle materials.”

The paper notes outdated recycling infrastructure and older technology as roadblocks.

Currently, only seven states have passed EPR laws for plastic packaging. Ten others are looking to pass similar measures, but each looks different, according to UH. Additionally, each state also has its own reporting system, which leads to incompatible datasets. Developing national EPR policies or consistent nationwide standards could lead to cleaner and more efficient processes, the report says.

The researchers also believe that investing in sorting, processing facilities, workforce training and artificial intelligence could alleviate issues for businesses—and particularly small businesses, which often lack the resources to manage complex reporting systems. Digital infrastructure techniques and moving away from manual data collection could also help.

Public education on recycling would also be “imperative” to the success of new policies, the report adds.

“Experts repeatedly underscored that public education and awareness about EPR, including among policymakers, are dismal,” the report reads. “Infrastructural limitations, barriers to access and the prevailing belief that curbside recycling is ineffective in the U.S. contribute to public dissatisfaction, misinformation and, in some cases, opposition toward the use of taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ contributions for EPR.”

For more information, read the full paper here.

UH's new Energy in Action Seminar Series kicked off this month. Photo via UH.edu

UH launches new series on AI’s impact on the energy sector

where to be

The University of Houston's Energy Transition Institute has launched a new Energy in Action Seminar Series that will feature talks focused on the intersection of the energy industry and digitization trends, such as AI.

The first event in the series took place earlier this month, featuring Raiford Smith, global market lead for power & energy for Google Cloud, who presented "AI, Energy, and Data Centers." The talk discussed the benefits of widespread AI adoption for growth in traditional and low-carbon energy resources.

Future events include:

“Through this timely and informative seminar series, ETI will bring together energy professionals, researchers, students, and anyone working in or around digital innovation in energy," Debalina Sengupta, chief operating officer of ETI, said in a news release. "We encourage industry members and students to register now and reap the benefits of participating in both the seminar and the reception, which presents a fantastic opportunity to stay ahead of industry developments and build a strong network in the Greater Houston energy ecosystem.”

The series is slated to continue throughout 2026. Each presentation is followed by a one-hour networking reception. Register for the next event here.

"Driving the Energy Transition” will air on Houston Public Media’s KUHF News 88.7 every other Monday. Photo courtesy of UH

University of Houston launches web, radio series to address key energy transition topics

tune in

The University of Houston Energy Transition Institute — in its mission to address challenges in the energy field and the ongoing energy transition — is launching two educational series via radio program and web seminars.

“Both these programs are ways for us to reach and share information with our stakeholders in the Houston ecosystem, region, nation and world about the latest trends in research and policy related to the energy transition,” Debalina Sengupta, chief operating officer at ETI, says in a news release.

"Driving the Energy Transition” will air on Houston Public Media’s KUHF News 88.7, and new episodes will be available every other Monday. The Energy Transition Webinar series will run biweekly on Tuesdays and offer online discussions that will feature UH experts and other experts in the field.

The radio series plans to explore innovations, policies and technologies around shifting the world to lower-carbon resources. The webinar series promises a “deep dive” into topics like the hydrogen economy, carbon capture, the circular economy, and sustainable energy practices, according to a news release. The webinars will include strategies for the energy landscape from Texas to globally, from UH faculty, students, industry leaders, and energy pioneers.

“UH is The Energy University, and 'Energy Transition' is the topic that should be on everyone’s mind right now,” ETI founding executive director Joe Powell adds. “How do we meet the dual challenge of expanding supply for equitable global access to energy, while also reducing fossil carbon dioxide emissions to address climate change? How do we continue to produce but also recycle the high-performance hydrocarbon products, which underpin our quality of life?”

The ETI focuses on hydrogen, carbon management, and circular plastics, and was founded in 2022 with a $10 million commitment from Shell. The institute also received a $100,000 grant from Baker Hughes in 2023.The institute also works closely with UH’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute and researchers across the University, and with other colleges, universities and industry partners. The ETI has helped catalyze “cross-disciplinary cooperation” to expand funding opportunities for UH faculty, which includes direct funding of over 24 projects via seed grants.

“Our aim is to provide reliable scientific evidence-based knowledge for all, to enable them to make informed decisions for the future of energy,” Sengupta says.

The University of Houston has joined the Energy Storage Research Alliance, one of two DOE-backed energy innovation hubs. Photo via Getty Images

University of Houston selected for DOE-backed energy storage innovation initiative

tapping in

The University of Houston was selected for a new energy storage initiative from the United States Department of Energy.

UH is part of the Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), which is one of the two energy innovation hubs that the DOE is creating with $125 million. The DOE will provide up to $62.5 million in ESRA funding over a span of five years.

“To fuel innovation and cultivate a sustainable and equitable energy future, all universities, government entities, industry and community partners have to work together,” Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for energy and innovation at UH, says in a news release. “No one person or entity can achieve all this by themselves. As the Energy University and a Carnegie-designated Tier One research university, located in Houston — a center of diverse talent and experience from across the energy industry — UH has a unique advantage of continuing to build on Houston’s global leadership and demonstrating solutions at scale.

The hubs will attempt to address battery challenges and encourage next-generation innovation, which include safety, high-energy density and long-duration batteries. The batteries will be made from inexpensive, abundant materials, per the release.

The work that will be done at ESRA and other hubs can optimize renewable energy usage, reduce emissions, enhance grid reliability, and assist in growing electric transportation, and other clean energy solutions.

ESRA will bring in 50 researchers from three national laboratories and 12 other universities, including UH. The deputy lead of the soft matter scientific thrust and the principal investigator for UH’s portion of the project will be Yan Yao. Yao is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor at the UH Cullen College of Engineering and principal investigator at the Texas Center for Superconductivity.

UH professor Yan Yao will lead the school's participation in the program. Photo via UH.edu

ESRA will focus on three interconnected scientific thrusts and how they work together: liquids, soft matter, and condensed matter phases. Yao and his team have created next-generation batteries using low-cost organic materials. The team previously used quinones that can be synthesized from plants and food like soybeans to increase energy density, electrochemical stability and safety in the cathode. Yao’s team were the first to make solid-state sodium batteries by using multi-electron conformal organic cathodes. The cathodes had a demonstrated record of recharging stability of 500 charging cycles.

Robert A. Welch Assistant Professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH Pieremanuele Canepa, will serve as co-PI. Both will investigate phase transitions in multi-electron redox materials and conformable cathodes to enable solid-state batteries by “marrying Yao’s experimental lab work with Canepa’s expertise in computational material science,” according to the release.

Joe Powell, founding director of the UH Energy Transition Institute and a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will create a community benefit plan and develop an energy equity course.

“New energy infrastructure and systems can have benefits and burdens for communities,” Powell says in the release. “Understanding potential issues and partnering to develop best solutions is critical. We want everyone to be able to participate in the new energy economy and benefit from clean energy solutions.”

This project will be led by Argonne National Laboratory and co-led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” adds Yao. “To collaborate with world-class experts to understand and develop new science and make discoveries that will lead to the next generation of batteries and energy storage concepts, and potentially game changing devices is exciting. It’s also a great opportunity for our students to learn from and work with top scientists in the country and be part of cutting-edge research.”

Debalina Sengupta has been named as the chief operating officer of UH's Energy Transition Institute. Photo via UH.edu

University of Houston names new energy transition-focused executive

leading the way

The University of Houston has named a new C-level executive to its energy transition-focused initiative.

Debalina Sengupta has been named as the chief operating officer of UH's Energy Transition Institute, which was established in 2022 by a $10 million commitment from Shell USA Inc. and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. The institute focuses on hydrogen, carbon management and circular plastics and works closely with UH’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute and researchers across the university.

Sengupta, who was previously a chemical engineer with over 18 years of experience with sustainability and resilience issues, was called to ETI’s mission and its focus on Houston, which is home to more than 4,500 energy companies and a pivotal international oil and gas hub.

“UH Energy Transition Institute is the first of its kind Institute setup in Texas that focuses solely on the transition of energy,” she says in a news release. “A two-way communication between the academic community and various stakeholders is necessary to implement the transition and I saw the UH ETI role enabling me to achieve this critical goal.”

Originally from India, where she saw first-hand the impact of natural disasters, she has been working with Texas coastal communities over the past two years to not help bring coastal resilience projects along the coast. The Texas coast will serve potentially as an economic development zone for several energy transition projects.

“It is necessary that we think deeply about sustainability quantification for our energy systems, diversify and expand from fossil to non-fossil resources, and understand how it can impact our future generations,” Sengupta continues. “This requires rigorous training and adopting new technologies that will enable the change, and I am dedicated to work towards this goal for UH ETI.”

Sengupta has also worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in India and a doctorate from Louisiana State University with a focus on process systems engineering. Sengupta previously was at Texas A&M University where she was the Coastal Resilience Program director for Texas Sea Grant,which is a federal-state partnership program funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She has served as the associate director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Gas and Fuels Research Center; coordinator of the Water, Energy and Food Nexus at Texas A&M Energy Institute; and lecturer at the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.

The ETI has helped catalyze “cross-disciplinary cooperation” to expand funding opportunities for UH faculty, which includes direct funding of over 24 projects via seed grants. As the new COO, Sengupta will work alongside founding executive director of the institute, Joe Powell, their executive team and the ETI advisory board to develop and implement strategic plans. Her position is partially funded by a $500,000 grant from the Houston-based Cullen Foundation.

“We are excited to have Dr. Sengupta join us at UH to help drive the Energy Transition Institute to fulfill its mission in educating students, expanding top-tier research, and providing thought leadership in sustainable energy and chemicals for the Houston area and beyond,” Powell adds. “Dr. Sengupta brings a strong background and network in collaborating with academic, community, governmental and industry partners to build the coalitions needed for success.”

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Helix Earth closes $12M round and more Houston energy headlines

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Editor's note: The top energy transition headlines for the month include Helix Earth's Seed 2 funding and Chevron's plans for a West Texas power plant. Below are the five most-read EnergyCapital stories published April 1-15, 2026:

1. Houston cleantech company closes $12M seed round

Helix Earth is developing a retrofit technology that has the potential to cut HVAC energy use by up to 50 percent. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies has closed a $12 million Seed 2 funding round to scale manufacturing of its energy-efficient commercial HVAC add-on technology. Veriten, a Houston-based energy investment firm, led the round. Rua Ventures, Carnrite Ventures, Skywriter LLC and Textbook Ventures also participated. Continue reading.

2. Chevron eyes $7B Texas power plant for Microsoft data center campus

Chevron is in talks with Microsoft and Engine No. 1 about a massive natural gas power plant in Texas. Photo via Getty Images

Software giant Microsoft is negotiating exclusively with Houston-based oil and gas titan Chevron and investment firm Engine No. 1 about the development of a $7 billion power plant in West Texas that would supply electricity for a Microsoft data center campus. Continue reading.

3. 3 strategies to strengthen the Gulf Coast as a global energy hub

The Gulf Coast is one of the most critical energy hubs in the world. Photo via Getty Images.

The Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast is the backbone of America’s energy and chemical economy. Texas produces roughly 43% of U.S. crude oil and 28% of natural gas, while Texas and Louisiana together account for about half of the nation’s refining capacity, processing 9.3 million barrels of crude per day across 50 refineries. The region also produces approximately 80% of the nation’s primary petrochemicals and ships more than $117 billion in chemical products annually from Texas alone. Continue reading.

4. 8 CERAWeek 2026 takeaways from a new Houston energy leader

Kelsey Kearns (right), the new director of Greentown Houston, shared her takeaways from her first-ever CERAWeek with Energy Capital HTX. Photo courtesy Greentown

My first CERAWeek was a blur. Having top energy executives, policymakers, and technologists all gathered in Houston—over 11,000 of them this year—was both overwhelming and energizing. The theme was “Convergence and Competition: Energy, Technology, and Geopolitics,” and walking through the George R. Brown Convention Center, it was immediately clear that this was no ordinary industry conference. As a first-timer with a Greentown Labs lens, here’s what really stuck with me. Continue reading.

5. Greentown Labs names new COO, appoints new Head of Houston

Lawson Gow and Kelsey Kearns have stepped into new leadership roles at Greentown Labs. Photos courtesy Greentown/LinkedIn

Greentown Labs has reshuffled its leadership, elevating Houston leaders into new roles. Lawson Gow was named COO of the Houston- and Boston-based climatech incubator in February 2026. In his new role, he will focus on optimizing Greentown's structure, building new internal and external systems and developing a plan for growth. Continue reading.

Fervo Energy adds former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, other leaders to board

power players

As it prepares for a highly anticipated IPO, Houston-based geothermal power provider Fervo Energy has added four heavyweights to its board of directors.

The most notable new board member is Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, Hewlett-Packard, and Spring-based HPE, and former U.S. ambassador to Kenya. She joined the Fervo board as lead independent director.

One of the other high-profile new board members at Fervo is Jessica Uhl. She was chief financial officer of Shell from 2017 to 2022 and spent a little over a year as president of GE Vernova, a GE energy spinoff. She is a former board member of GE, Goldman Sachs and Shell. Today, Uhl advises investment firms on energy matters.

Another energy industry veteran, Trey Lowe, also joined the Fervo board. Lowe is senior vice president and chief technology officer at oil and gas producer Devon Energy, a Fervo investor that’s moving its headquarters from Oklahoma City to Houston. Before Devon, Lowe worked in the U.S. and Norway for Houston-based energy technology company SLB.

The fourth new director at Fervo is Robert Keehan, who spent 37 years at professional services firm PwC. He most recently was PwC’s chief global auditor and earlier was a partner in the firm’s energy practice.

Keehan and Uhl will serve as independent directors, which are non-executive governance and oversight roles, while Lowe is a non-independent director, which is a more hands-on role.

With the four new directors, Fervo has seven board members.

The arrival of the four new board members comes at a monumental time for Fervo, a provider of utility-scale geothermal energy:

“Energy markets are demanding dependable, carbon-free power at an unprecedented scale, and Fervo is uniquely positioned to supply it,” Tim Latimer, co-founder and CEO of Fervo, said in December.

8 Houston companies earn CleanTech Breakthrough Awards

winner, winners

Eight cleantech companies with Houston headquarters were recognized in this year’s CleanTech Breakthrough Awards program.

CleanTech Breakthrough, part of market intelligence platform Tech Breakthrough, honors innovative and influential energy, climate, and cleantech companies, products and services.

This year’s winners from Houston are:

  • CleanTech Analytics Company of the Year: Amperon, a provider of AI-powered energy forecasting software
  • Overall Hydrogen Solution of the Year: Eclipse Energy, which converts maxed-out oilfields into low-cost sources of hydrogen
  • Energy Production Company of the Year: Fervo Energy, a provider of geothermal power
  • Production Solution of the Year: Quaise Energy, a developer of a drilling system for converting traditional power stations into geothermal energy plants
  • Green Materials Solution of the Year: Solidec, which uses air, water, and electricity to produce chemicals
  • Hydrogen Production Solution of the Year: VEMA Hydrogen, a producer of renewable hydrogen
  • CleanTech Analytics Innovation Award: Finland-based Wärtsilä, a provider of advanced energy storage systems and services, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Houston
  • Energy Production Platform of the Year: France-based energy giant TotalEnergies, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Houston

Other Texas companies made the list, including Austin-headquartered Base Power, founded by Justin Lopas and Zach Dell. Zach Dell is the son of Austin billionaire and Houston native Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies. The company recently started servicing Houston and established an office in Katy.

CleanTech Breakthrough says its annual awards program honors “the visionaries and leaders accelerating the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

“In a world increasingly focused on sustainability and environmental responsibility, innovation in clean technology has never been more critical,” said Bryan Vaughn, managing director of CleanTech Breakthrough. “This year’s winners represent the very best in ingenuity and execution, delivering solutions that not only reduce environmental impact but also drive efficiency, scalability and real-world results.”

See the full list of the 2026 winners here.
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