UT helped form a nine-university alliance this spring that aims to cut out carbon dioxide emissions from manufacturing processes by switching to clean energy sources. 

“It’s a great opportunity for UT to lead in this push towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions globally,” chemical engineering professor Brian Korgel said.

The Electrified Process for Industry without Carbon (EPIXC) Institute focuses on industrial decarbonization, which Korgel said reduces greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing processes. He said that the heat required for manufacturing — known as “process heat” — is typically generated by burning fossil fuels like natural gas. 

According to the Arizona State University website, “EPIXC will target the highest carbon-emitting industrial sectors: iron and steel, chemicals, food and beverage, petroleum refining, forest products and cement.” 

According to the World Economic Forum, manufacturing processes account for one-fifth of the world’s carbon emissions. Korgel mentioned one way to advance industrial decarbonization was by electrifying process heating through solar or wind energy.

“If we’re going to significantly decrease our greenhouse gas emissions, we have to address that challenge,” Korgel said.

However, switching to renewable energy proves challenging. Korgel said the intermittencies of renewable energy sources make it difficult to determine what sources to use. For example, the amount of solar energy generated varies throughout the day. 

“You can’t just solve one aspect,” Korgel said. “There are many different layers.”

Although switching to renewable energy will require more electricity, Korgel said the electric grid could adapt.  

“The global energy use is continuing to increase and that’s true in Texas, too, so the grid is going to have to expand no matter what,” Korgel said. “I don’t think that there’s a real challenge with expanding the amount of electricity on the grid.”

Universities involved in the EPIXC institute each focus on a certain manufacturing sector, with UT’s being chemical manufacturing. Korgel said chemical manufacturing is an especially relevant sector due to Texas’s copious energy usage. 

“We produce more energy, use more energy than any other state and a lot of it is for the chemical industry,” Korgel said.

Research into electrifying chemical manufacturing will occur at the Process Science and Technology Center. Researchers will test new techniques in a “miniature chemical plant,” said Roger Bonnecaze, the Cockrell School of Engineering dean.

“We’ve got a great chemical engineering department here, one of the best in the world,” Bonnecaze said. “It’s a very unique facility and a unique expertise that UT has.”

The U.S. Department of Energy will provide the University with $17 million in funding for the five-year grant, the second largest amount behind lead institution Arizona State.

“The petrochemical industry is huge in Texas,” Bonnecaze said. “If there’s any place where we should solve this process heating opportunity or challenge, it should be in Texas. This is the place to make it happen.”