Twelve projects have been selected for the 2025 Strategic Energy Seed Grant Program. These projects cover a range of critical topics, including power for data centers fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, sustainable fuels, decarbonization of manufacturing processes, management of water resources, energy storage technologies, critical minerals and grid resilience. The program is made possible with funding from the Energy Institute’s corporate partners.

“The energy industry is facing unprecedented growth in demand, which presents both economic opportunities for the region, as well as significant challenges,” according to Brian Korgel, Director of The Energy Institute and Rashid Engineering Regents Chair Professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. “The world’s expanding energy needs must be met, while also dramatically reducing the environmental impacts of energy production and use. Texas is uniquely positioned to address this challenge,” he said.  “It has abundant energy resources, affordable electricity, and an unparalleled workforce that is skilled in all aspects of the energy industry. Our industry partners in the region also have the assets and infrastructure needed to scale and commercialize new technologies that emerge from the program—characteristics that drive innovation and economic growth.” 

Projects were selected for funding from 75 proposals submitted by multidisciplinary teams from across the UT Austin campus. Funding supports graduate students and post-doctoral fellows engaging in collaborative energy research and the results of these projects help attract additional funding from federal grants, industry partners and philanthropic organizations.

The following research projects were selected for funding in the 2025 Strategic Energy Seed Grant program:

Energy Beaming for Long-Range Commercial Aircraft Using Solar Phased Arrays

• Christian Claudel, Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Javad Mohammadi, Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Kara Kockelman, Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Efficient Synthesis of Sodium Phosphate Solid-State Electrolytes

• David Mitlin, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Donald Siegel, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Fundamental Understanding of Thermo-Hydraulic Fractures in Porous Media for Improved Geothermal Energy and Carbon Storage 

• David N. Espinoza, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• John T. Foster, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering 

Designing Low Emission Hydrogen Supply Chains

• Erin Tullos, Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis, Cockrell School of Engineering
• David Allen, Mcketta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Arvind Ravikumar, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Engineering the Carbon Management System Through Technology and Policy Optimization

• Hugh C. Daigle, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Benjamin Leibowicz, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Andrew Waxman, LBJ School of Public Affairs

Electrochemical Hydrogenation for Production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels

• Joaquin Resasco, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Yuanyue Liu, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Designing Sensitive Bioassays for Produced Water

• Lydia Maria Contreras, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Lynn Katz, Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

The Electrification Race: Probing the Power Grid/Data Center/Manufacturing Nexus

• Michael Baldea, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Ilias Mitrai, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Erhan Kutanoglu, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Powering the Future: A Data-Driven Framework for Sustainable and Resilient Data Center Expansion in Texas 

• Ning Lin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences
• Vaibhav Bahadur, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Lars Koesterke, Texas Advanced Computing Center

Securing Power Reliability and Availability for Critical Loads with Flexible Generation 

• Surya Santoso, Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Brian Johnson, Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Hybrid Dewatering/Desalination for Reducing Energy Consumption and Cost of Lithium Extraction from Hypersaline Brines 

• Vaibhav Bahadur, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Benny Freeman, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Driving the Future of Power Value Chain Decarbonization

• Xiuling Li, Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
• Alex Q. Huang, Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering