- Rice University and ExxonMobil signed a research deal to develop clean energy and water treatment technologies.
- The first project uses electrochemical processes to treat produced water from oil and gas.
- The partnership aims to scale real-world solutions in water reuse, ammonia recovery, and hydrogen production.
Rice University signed a master research agreement with ExxonMobil to develop new technologies in clean energy, water treatment, and resource recovery. The partnership marks a new phase in cooperation between academia and the energy industry.
Both institutions in Houston aim to combine Rice’s research strengths with ExxonMobil’s industrial expertise. They plan to create scalable, system-level solutions for global environmental and energy challenges.
The first project under the agreement has already started. Professor Qilin Li, a civil and environmental engineer at Rice, leads the research. She also co-directs the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT Center).
Li’s team treats water produced by oil and gas operations. They apply electrochemical advanced oxidation processes to remove ammonia, nitrogen, and volatile organic compounds, which often contaminate oil production wastewater.
The project aims to reuse treated water in agriculture, industrial processes, or natural habitats. The researchers also explore ammonia recovery and hydrogen production, both vital for clean energy solutions.
Rice University uses the partnership to boost its role in energy sustainability. Its researchers focus on materials science, catalysts, polymers, high-performance computing, and applied mathematics. These areas support the design of system-wide innovations.
ExxonMobil contributes its decades of experience in large-scale energy operations. The company focuses on using science and technology to meet global energy needs.
Mike Zamora, President of ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company, emphasised the value of collaboration. “Working with Rice helps us develop practical, impactful solutions,” he said.
Rice and ExxonMobil plan to launch more projects under the agreement. These future initiatives will target water, energy, and resource recovery technologies.
Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Executive Vice President for Research at Rice, highlighted the benefits of collaboration. “We bring together diverse teams to solve complex problems,” he said.
He stressed the importance of systems thinking in addressing global water and energy challenges.
The agreement reflects a growing trend of industry-academic partnerships. These collaborations speed up innovation by connecting advanced research with field-ready applications.
Rice aims to strengthen its leadership in environmental and energy research. ExxonMobil gains access to new technologies and emerging scientific talent.
The partners focus on delivering real-world results. They aim to create solutions that can scale and address primary sustainability needs.
The projects under this agreement seek long-term impacts from water purification to clean energy production.
The agreement supports long-term collaboration and allows the partners to quickly launch new research based on emerging ideas. Rice and ExxonMobil plan to expand their work together in the coming years.