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Houston university launches latest micro-credential course focused on AI, robotics for the energy industry

The new course will provide participants with insights on how to use robotics to enhance efficiency in data collection, AI data analysis tools for industry, risk management with AI, and more. Photo courtesy of UH

The University of Houston will launch its latest micro-credential course next month that focuses on how AI and robotics can be used in inspection processes for the energy industry.

Running from March 22 through April 22, the course is open to "engineers, technicians and industry professionals with advanced knowledge in the dynamic fields of robotics and AI," according to a statement from UH. It will combine weekly online lectures and in-person hands-on demonstrations and provide participants with insights on how to use robotics to enhance efficiency in data collection, AI data analysis tools for industry, risk management with AI, and more.

“By blending theoretical knowledge with practical applications and hands-on experience, the course aims to empower participants with the skills needed to evaluate and adopt these advanced technologies to address real-world challenges in asset management,” Vedhus Hoskere, assistant professor at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, said in a statement. “We hope that upskilling and knowledge gained from this course will help accelerate the adoption of AI and robotics and contribute to the advancement of safer and more resource-efficient energy infrastructure systems.”

Hoskere will teach the course module titled “Computer Vision and Deep Learning for Inspections.” He also recently received a $500,000 grant from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to look at how to use drones, cameras, sensors and AI to support Texas' bridge maintenance programs.

Other leaders of the UH Energy course will include:

  • Kimberley Hayes, founder of Valkim Technologies: Lead speaker who will provide an overview and introduction of AI applications, standards and certification
  • Gangbing Song, Moores Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UH: Machine learning hands-on exercises
  • Pete Peterson, head of product management and marketing with XaaS Lab: Computer vision technology in the oil and gas industry
  • Matthew Alberts, head of project management with Future Technologies Venture Venture LLC: Use cases, workflow and optimizing inspections with AI and drones
  • Suchet Bargoti, chief technology officer at Abyss Solutions: AI and robots for integrity management.

Registration accepted up to the first day of the course and can be completed online.

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A View From HETI

Utility Global’s H2Gen technology aims to decarbonize the heavy industrial sector. Photo courtesy of Utility Global

Houston-based Utility Global has raised $100 million in an ongoing Series D round to globally deploy its decarbonization technology at an industrial scale.

The round was led by Ara Partners and APG Asset, according to a news release. Utility plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing, grow its teams and support its commercial developments and partnerships.

“This financing marks a critical step in Utility’s transition from a proven technology to full-scale global commercial execution,” Parker Meeks, CEO and president of Utility Global, said in the release. “Industrial customers are no longer looking for pilots or promises; they need deployable solutions that work within existing assets and deliver true economic industrial decarbonization today that is operationally reliable and highly scalable. Utility’s technology produces both economic clean hydrogen and capture-ready CO2 streams, and this capital enables us to scale and deploy that impact globally with speed, discipline, and rigor.”

Utility Global's H2Gen technology produces low-cost, clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases without requiring electricity. It's designed to integrate into existing industrial infrastructure in hard-to-abate assets in the steel, refining, petrochemical, chemical, low-carbon fuels, and upstream oil and gas sectors.

“Utility is tackling one of the most difficult challenges in the energy transition: decarbonizing hard‑to‑abate industrial sectors,” Cory Steffek, partner at Ara Partners and Utility Global board chair, said in the release. “What sets Utility apart is its ability to compete head‑to‑head with conventional fossil‑based solutions on cost and reliability, even as it materially reduces emissions. With this new funding, Utility is well-positioned for its next chapter of commercial growth while maintaining the technical excellence and capital discipline that have defined its development to date.”

Utility Global reached several major milestones in 2025. After closing a $53 million Series C, the company agreed to develop at least one decarbonization facility at an ArcelorMittal steel plant in Brazil. It also signed a strategic partnership with California-based Kyocera International Inc. to scale global manufacturing of its H2Gen electrochemical cells.

The company also partnered with Maas Energy Works, another California company, to develop a commercial project integrating Maas’ dairy biogas systems with H2Gen to produce economical, clean hydrogen.

"These projects were never intended to stand alone. They anchor a deep and growing pipeline of commercial projects now in development globally across steel, refining, chemicals, biogas and other hard-to-abate sectors worldwide, Meeks shared in a 2025 year-in-review note. He added that 2026 would be a year of "focused acceleration to scale."

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