UH team partners with Chevron, Oceaneering for remote-operated pipeline inspector

subsea innovation

The robots, developed by UH researchers, will provide a safer and more cost effective alternative to pipeline inspections, which are traditionally performed by human divers and require a great deal of time and money. Photo via UH.edu

Two professors at the University of Houston have developed an autonomous subsea vehicle that aims to decrease the number and severity of oil spills.

Known as SmartTouch technology, the Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) use smart touch sensors, video cameras and scanning sonars to inspect flange bolts in subsea pipelines, which are considered to lead to increased rates of leakage, according to a release from the university.

The ROVs, developed by UH's Zheng Chen and Gangbing Song, will provide a safer and more cost effective alternative to pipeline inspections, which are traditionally performed by human divers and require a great deal of time and money.

“By automating the inspection process with this state-of-the art robotic technology, we can dramatically reduce the cost and risk of these important subsea inspections which will lead to safer operations of offshore oil and gas pipelines as less intervention from human divers will be needed,” Chen, the Bill D. Cook Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, said in a statement.

The technology will also be highly accurate in monitoring corrosion, which according to Song, the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is responsible for most small leaks in subsea pipelines.

The project is funded by a $960,000 grant from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which is a part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Chen and Song are also collaborating with Houston-based Oceaneering International on the development of the ROVs, which Oceaneering specializes in. Energy giant Chevron will evaluate the technology’s future commercialization, according to UH, and preliminary studies were funded by the university's Subsea Systems Institute.

Thus far, a prototype of the ROVs has been tested in Chen's lab at UH and in Galveston Bay. Experiments showed the technology's ability to inspect the looseness of subsea bolted connections, like flange bolts.

Chen and Song see other applications for their technology, as well.

"Ultimately, the project will push the boundaries of what can be accomplished by integrating robotics and structural health monitoring technologies," Chen added in the statement. "With proper implementation, the rate of subsea pipeline failure and related accidents will decrease, and subsea operations will be free to expand at a faster rate than before.”

Earlier this summer the UH Subsea Systems Institute and SPRINT Robotics teamed up to develop a robotics training program for the energy industry known as “Robotics in Energy.” The first of a series of two-day courses debuted in May and a subsequent course, Automation & Autonomy, will launch next month. Others are expected to be rolled out in the future as part of the university's Micro-Credentialing Programs in UH Energy.

Additionally Chevron and UH partnered up again last month to announce its inaugural cohort of UH-Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows.

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston startup launches groundbreaking mineral hydrogen pilot

pilot project

Houston climatech company Vema Hydrogen recently completed drilling its first two pilot wells in Quebec for its Engineered Mineral Hydrogen (EMH) pilot. The company says the project is the first EMH pilot of its kind.

Vema’s EMH technology produces low-cost, high-purity hydrogen from subsurface rock formations. It has the capacity to support e-fuel and clean mobility industries and the shipping and air transport markets. The pilot project is the first field deployment of the company’s technology.

“This pilot will provide the critical data needed to validate Engineered Mineral Hydrogen at commercial scale and demonstrate that Quebec can lead the world in this emerging clean energy category,” Pierre Levin, CEO of Vema Hydrogen, said in a news release.

Levin added that the sample collected thus far in the pilot is “exactly what we expected, and is very promising for hydrogen yields.”

Through the pilot, Vema will collect core samples and begin subsurface analysis to evaluate fluid movement and monitor hydrogen production from the wells. The data collected from the pilot will shape Vema's plans for commercialization and provide documentation for proof of concept in the field, according to the news release.

“Vema Hydrogen perfectly embodies the spirit of the grey to green movement: transforming mining liabilities into drivers of innovation and ecological transition,” Ludovic Beauregard, circular economy commissioner at the Thetford Region Economic Development Corporation, added in the release.

“This project demonstrates that it is possible to reconcile the revitalization of mining regions, clean energy and sustainable economic development for these areas.”

In addition to its pilot in Canada, Vema also recently signed a 10-year hydrogen purchase and sale agreement with San Francisco-based Verne Power to supply clean hydrogen for data centers across California. The company was selected as a Qualified Supplier by The First Public Hydrogen Authority, which will allow it to supply clean hydrogen at scale to California’s municipalities, transit agencies and businesses through the FPH2 network.

Vema aims to produce Engineered Mineral Hydrogen for less than $1 per kilogram. The company, founded in 2024, is working toward a gigawatt-scale hydrogen supply in North America.

Houston startup wins funding through new Bezos Earth Fund initiative

global winner

A Houston-based climatech startup is one of the first 16 companies in the world to receive funding through a new partnership between The Bezos Earth Fund and The Earthshot Prize.

Mati Carbon will receive $100,000 through the Bezos Earth Fund’s Acceleration Initiative. The initiative will provide $4.8 million over three years to support climate and nature solutions startups. It's backed by The Bezos Earth Fund, which was founded through a $10 billion gift from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and aims to "transform the fight against climate change."

The Acceleration Initiative will choose 16 startups each year from The Earthshot Prize’s global pool of nominations that were not selected as finalists. The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, awards £1 million to five energy startups each year over a decade.

"The Earthshot Prize selects 15 finalists each year, but our wider pool of nominations represents a global pipeline of innovators and investable solutions that benefit both people and planet. Collaborating with the Bezos Earth Fund to support additional high-potential solutions is at the heart of commitment to working with partners who share our vision," Jason Knauf, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, said in a news release. "By combining our strengths to support 48 carefully selected grantees from The Earthshot Prize’s pool of nominations, our partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund means we will continue to drive systemic change beyond our annual Prize cycle, delivering real-world impact at scale and speed.”

Mati Carbon was founded in 2022 by co-directors Shantanu Agarwal and Rwitwika Bhattacharya. It removes carbon through its Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) program and works with agricultural farms in Africa and India. Mati Carbon says the farmers it partners with are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

"As one of the first 16 organizations selected, this support enables us to expand our operations, move faster and think bigger about the impact we can create," the company shared in a LinkedIn post.

The other grantees from around the world include:

Air Protein Inc.
Climatenza Solar
Instituto Floresta Viva
Forum Konservasi Leuser
Fundación Rewilding Argentina
Hyperion Robotics
InPlanet
Lasso
Mandai Nature
MERMAID
Asociación Conservacionista Misión Tiburón
Simple Planet
Snowchange Cooperative
tHEMEat Company
UP Catalyst

Mati Carbon also won the $50 million grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, backed by Elon Musk’s charitable organization, The Musk Foundation, last year.

Texas' oil and gas foundation could boost its geothermal future, UH says

future of geothermal

Equipped with the proper policies and investments, Texas could capitalize on its oil and gas infrastructure and expertise to lead the U.S. in development of advanced geothermal power, a new University of Houston white paper says.

Drilling, reservoir development and subsurface engineering are among the Texas oil and gas industry’s capabilities that could translate to geothermal energy, according to a news release. Furthermore, oil and gas skills, data, technology and supply chains could help make geothermal power more cost-effective.

Up to 80 percent of the investment required for a geothermal project involves capacity and skills that are common in the oil and gas industry, the white paper points out.

Building on its existing oil-and-gas foundation, Texas could help accelerate production of geothermal energy, lower geothermal energy costs and create more jobs in the energy workforce, according to the news release.

The paper also highlights geothermal progress made by Houston-based companies Fervo Energy, Quaise Energy and Sage Geosystems, as well as Canada-based Eavor Technologies Inc.

UH’s Division of Energy published the white paper, Advanced Geothermal: Opportunities and Challenges, in partnership with the C.T. Bauer College of Business’ Gutierrez Energy Management Institute.

“Energy demand, especially electricity demand, is continuing to grow, and we need to develop new low-carbon energy sources to meet those needs,” Greg Bean, executive director of the institute and author of the white paper, said of geothermal’s potential.

View All Listings

ENERGYCAPITALHTX EMAILS ARE AWESOME