Funding will accelerate research and training in energy, water and AI to meet the state’s growing demand.

AUSTIN, Texas—Google is supporting The University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute as it advances research and workforce development to help Texas meet fast-growing energy and water needs. The collaboration will strengthen innovation to ensure that Texas will continue to rapidly grow its economy while maintaining a reliable power grid with adequate water resources across the state. 

Google’s support to the Energy Institute will fund research and education related to powering data centers, said Brian Korgel, Rashid Engineering Regents Chair Professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and director of the Energy Institute. It is part of Google’s $40 billion investment in Texas, announced last week by Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Governor Greg Abbott. 

The Energy Institute recently released a report that makes recommendations for navigating the unprecedented energy demands and grid reliability challenges in Texas driven in part by the growth of data centers. 

“Google’s funding will support critical programs in energy, water and AI and help prepare our students to become Texas’s next generation of technology and industry leaders,” Korgel said. “This work underlies the future economic competitiveness and leadership of Texas, it helps ensure an abundant and reliable supply of energy and water far into the future, and it aligns with America’s national security interests.”

“Our investment in Texas is centered on advancing the infrastructure and the workforce required for the next era of AI innovation,” said Robert Barron-Pryce, Google.org Giving Manager at Google. “We are proud to support The University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute as it accelerates vital research to address the complex challenge of meeting Texas’s growing energy and water needs and builds a talent pipeline of homegrown innovators.”

The Energy Institute is the University’s hub for energy innovation, connecting hundreds of faculty members and researchers with partners in government, startups, philanthropy and industry. Through initiatives such as the Strategic Energy Seed Grant Program, UT Energy Week, and the UT Energy Symposium, the Energy Institute fosters collaboration and accelerates solutions to Texas’s most pressing energy challenges.