Chief Economist, Center for Energy Economics, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin
Ning Lin is the Chief Economist at the Center for Energy Economics (CEE) in the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. CEE’s mission is to translate energy data, engineering insight, and market analysis into decision-ready solutions—bringing academia, government, and industry together to develop system-level strategies for reliable, affordable, and lower-carbon energy.
Dr. Lin has 20 years of experience in advanced market analysis and technology-commercialization across natural gas, power, hydrogen, and downstream industrial value chains. Prior to UT Austin, she led global market analytics and commercial development at Shell Trading, Koch Industries, and Tenaska, with work spanning petrochemical derivatives, intermediate chemicals, polymers and fibers, and large capital project development, including technology licensing, market entry, and investment evaluation.
Her current portfolio centers on two fronts: (1) large-load energy and resource management for data centers and power-intensive industry—integrating power, gas, and water planning to guide siting, interconnection, firming strategies, and community considerations across Texas; and (2) hydrogen value-chain valuation—from production through midstream networks, geological storage, and ammonia markets. She leads the development of HyFive, a screening and valuation framework for underground hydrogen storage that links geology, engineering, and economics; supports hub-scale planning in Texas; and advances decision tools on water use and quality for emerging hydrogen systems.