Leading the Clean
Energy Charge
U.S. Department of Energy funds
groundbreaking UH Energy
research projects.
By Katie Stroh

There is no question that hydrogen could be a game changer. As a viable replacement to existing liquid carbon-based fuels, it has the potential to reduce emissions in some of the most difficult-to-decarbonize sectors — manufacturing, agriculture, supply chains and long-haul transportation, for example. But there are plenty of questions about how to make it happen.
The University of Houston, The Energy University, is bringing transformational ideas to the table that seek to turn existing oil and gas infrastructure into sources for low-carbon energy. Perhaps just as important, it’s pursuing solutions that won’t cripple the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry activities or decimate its workforce.
A New Approach for Decommissioning Infrastructure
Ram Seetharam, a UH alumnus and retired senior executive of ExxonMobil, is a UH researcher heading up one such project: A Comprehensive Roadmap for Repurposing Offshore Infrastructure for Clean Energy Projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The research team envisions ways to prolong the use of existing oil and gas assets — more than 1,500 oil platforms, 14,000 wells and 10,000 miles of pipeline — that have a typical lifespan of up to 40 years.
When their time is up, the law dictates these assets must be shut down and decommissioned, which is a lengthy, expensive process. Seetharam believes the life of this infrastructure can be extended — with minimal environmental impact — by installing wind turbines that generate clean energy, as an example.
“Not only are you creating new jobs, but you’re also helping the transition from oil and gas to clean energy, reusing the structures, helping decommissioning happen in a more organized fashion and hopefully generating some profit,” Seetharam says.
Project members also hope to bring together a broad coalition of outside stakeholders — expert advisers from regulatory bodies, community agencies, other research institutions, national labs and more — to install and operate a small demonstration project in the Gulf to test the concept.
“The vision is that if even a fraction — 10 to 15% — of existing platforms are converted to clean energy projects from offshore oil and gas, you keep the Gulf of Mexico energy community alive and thriving past the transition away from oil and gas,” Seetharam says.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced $17.4 million in funding for 19 novel, early-stage research projects focused on expanding clean energy technologies at colleges and universities across the country. UH is involved in three of the funded projects.
“For the University, having our name on that demonstration project and using that as a platform to allow students to have meaningful experiences designing, running and operating these kinds of clean energy projects can be a huge addition to classroom-based learning,” Seetharam says.
Expanding Access to Charging Stations
Also funded by the DOE is the Houston Hydrogen Transportation Pilot led by Christine Ehlig-Economides, professor and Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Chair of Petroleum Engineering. Her research team is exploring the possibility of bringing hydrogen refueling stations for electric vehicles to the Houston area by repurposing existing fueling stations as well as methane pipelines to transport the hydrogen.
Although standard charging stations for battery electric vehicles are common nationwide, commercial fueling stations for hydrogen-fueled vehicles (also considered EVs) don’t exist outside of California.
“The Houston area has most of the hydrogen generation in the country, so we should be able to tap into that,” Ehlig-Economides says. She believes the simplicity and ultrafast fueling capabilities of hydrogen-fueled vehicles may appeal to consumers as well as corporations and government entities that use delivery and fleet vehicles, such as the U.S. Postal Service.
“Hydrogen refueling is quick, like gasoline or diesel,” Ehlig-Economides says. “And EVs are much simpler vehicles: They have 2,000 parts. Vehicles that use gas and diesel have 20,000 parts, so there are 10 times as many things that can go wrong. Consumers might find a lot of value in being able to refuel with hydrogen.”
The funding allows project leaders to assemble a group of stakeholders — vehicle makers, hydrogen producers and more — to organize and participate in a pilot project, potentially testing hydrogen refueling with a group of delivery or fleet vehicles. Ehlig- Economides and her team are also partnering with Prairie View A&M to explore the environmental and social risks of implementing the pilot, and with UH’s Hobby School of Public Affairs to analyze community benefits and costs.
The refueling project is being managed by Joe Powell, founding executive director of the UH Energy Transition Institute. Stanko Brankovic, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH, and Raghava Kommalapati, Honeywell Endowed Professor at Prairie View A&M, are co-principal investigators on the project.
UH Is Leading the Energy Transition
While UH is already considered a major player in hydrogen energy research, Ehlig-Economides says she’s excited to see the ways this DOE funding will spawn new research opportunities for faculty and student researchers alike.
Ramanan Krishnamoorti, UH vice president for energy and innovation, agrees, adding that UH is uniquely positioned due to its location, the breadth of its expertise and energy research, and its established industry collaborations.
“The success of these projects could attract investment, create jobs, produce clean energy, save costs, reduce carbon emissions and benefit not only the greater Houston area but the Gulf Coast and beyond,” he says.
The DOE selected the projects through its University Training and Research program, which aims to educate and train future engineers and scientists dedicated to achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
Read “The Great Energy Transfer” to learn more about the Energy Transition Institute at UH and how it’s keeping Texas at the center of the climate change conversation.
Ram Seetharam
Ram Seetharam
Another Department of Energy-funded UH project hopes to bring hydrogen refueling stations for EVs to the Houston area by repurposing existing fueling stations.
Another Department of Energy-funded UH project hopes to bring hydrogen refueling stations for EVs to the Houston area by repurposing existing fueling stations.
Christine Ehlig-Economides
Christine Ehlig-Economides
