Texas A&M Energy Institute To Share In $20M Department Of Energy Grant For Fossil Energy Research

The Texas A&M Energy Institute is joining eight other universities to participate in a new six-year, $20 million project awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Titled “University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research” (UCFER), the goals of the project will be to identify, select, execute, review and disseminate knowledge from research that will improve the efficiency of production and use of fossil energy resources while minimizing the environmental impacts and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Led by Penn State University, the other founding members of the coalition team include—in addition to Texas A&M — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Kentucky, University of Southern California, University of Tulsa, University of Wyoming and Virginia Tech University.

Professor Christodoulos A. Floudas, director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute, the Erle Nye ’59 Chair Professor for Engineering Excellence in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, and primary investigator for Texas A&M’s part of the DOE project, cited the collaborative opportunities the project offers faculty, staff and students throughout the university in supporting the national energy initiative and supporting the institute’s mission.

“I am delighted that the Texas A&M Energy Institute is among the recipients of this $20 million DOE NETL grant that focuses on fossil energy research,” said Floudas. “This will allow for multidisciplinary research collaborations within Texas A&M University and NETL researchers, with the primary goal to improve the energy efficiency, production, and use of fossil-based resources.”

UCFER will engage in both fundamental and applied research for clean and low-carbon energy based on fossil resources. Outreach and technology transfer to industry will be important components of the coalition. With the aim of reducing environmental impacts and minimizing carbon dioxide emission, the coalition will explore both research in coal and in natural gas and oil including carbon dioxide capture, storage and utilization.

UCFER will support the mission of the U.S. Department of Energy through mechanisms that promote collaboration among NETL and the universities that are members of the coalition by the coordination of research and the sharing of data. Its collaborative research will focus on coal, natural gas, and oil and will involve expertise in one or more of the following five core competence areas – geological and environmental systems, materials engineering and manufacturing, energy conversion engineering, systems engineering and analysis, and computational science and engineering.

Research in gas and oil will also include unconventional resources such as shale gas and environmental impacts, natural gas infrastructure — leak detection and smart sensors, deep water technology, methane hydrates and enhanced recovery.

In addition to Floudas, the founding members of the Texas A&M Energy Institute team include:

• Professor Efstratios Pistikopoulos, associate director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute and TEES Distinguished Research Professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering (co-primary investigator)
• Professor A. Daniel Hill, department head and holder of the Noble Chair in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
• Professor Akhil Datta-Gupta, University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor, and holder of the L.F. Peterson ’36 Chair in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
• Professor Carlos A. Dengo, Executive Professor and director of the Berg-Hughes Center for Petroleum and Sedimentary System in the Department of Geology and Geophysics
• Professor M. Nazmul Karim, department head, Professor and holder of the T. Michael O’Connor Chair II in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.

Texas A&M Energy Institute

The Texas A&M Energy Institute engages undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral associates, research staff, and faculty members toward the study and development of innovative technologies and policies for energy production and energy conservation. Special attention is paid to elucidating the complexity among the interacting components of energy, economics, law, public policy, and the environment.

The Texas A&M Energy Institute focuses on three essential pillars: transformation of the energy research landscape, education of the next generation of leaders in energy, and establishment of a vibrant external partnerships program in energy.

With 240 faculty affiliates from nine colleges and schools, more than 20 Texas A&M University departments, two Texas A&M University branch campuses, and two Texas A&M University System member institutions, along with a unique community of more than 400 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in the Texas A&M Energy Research Society, cutting-edge solutions are being realized through true interdisciplinary collaborations that will address the complexity and challenges of the world’s energy future.