Investors & Entrepreneurs
INDUSTRIAL AFFILIATES PROGRAMS
Industrial Affiliates Programs provide a unique opportunity for the private sector to partner with UT researchers to explore research topics of mutual interest. Companies who join these programs gain access to state-of-the-art research facilities, world-class university talent, and any data and publications shared among members in exchange for an annual membership fee. Because Industrial Affiliates Programs are dedicated to fundamental, early-stage research, members can engage with the university’s research programs, students, and faculty without paying institutional indirect costs or overhead.
For more information on joining or establishing an Industrial Affiliates Program, contact our Licensing and Collaborative Research team.
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GeoH2
Energy – Renewable
GeoH2 conducts geoscience and economic research to facilitate and advance the development of a hydrogen economy at scale. GeoH2 connects industry professionals in the energy and power sector with researchers in energy geoscience, subsurface engineering, and energy economics to conduct subsurface hydrogen storage research and technology development, perform market feasibility analyses, and explore novel subsurface concepts related to hydrogen.
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Digital Rock Petrophysics
Energy – Petrophysics
The Digital Rock Petrophysics Industrial Affiliate Program develops new methods of petrophysical characterization, data preservation, simulation automation based on multiscale imaging of porous materials and relating them to laboratory and field measurements. Our research objectives include (1) improving relative permeability, wettability description and electrical properties in heterogeneous formations such as carbonates and unconventionals and (2) establishing multiscale imaging and characterization workflows that unravel fundamentals of the relevant transport processes. In the process, we will create a rock catalog based on Digital Rocks Portal (https://www.digitalrocksportal.org/) that hosts benchmarks for machine/deep learning rock characterization algorithms and relates digital rocks petrophysics results with measurements, well log interpretation and field observation.
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Rig Automation and Performance Improvement in Drilling
Energy – Reservoir Drilling
The Rig Automation and Performance Improvement in Drilling (RAPID) industrial affiliates program is an interdisciplinary group of researchers and students from multiple engineering disciplines (petroleum, mechanical, civil, computational, etc.) whose objective is to deliver novel solutions for any and every aspect of well construction with the overall goal of reducing drilling/completion time and cost and reducing the number of individuals at the rig site.
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Texas Carbon Management Program
Energy – Global Warming & Environmental
This research program is focused on the technical obstacles to the deployment of CO2 capture from flue gas by amine absorption/stripping. The primary objective is to develop and demonstrate evolutionary improvements to monoethanolamine scrubbing for CO2 capture from coal- and gas-fired flue gas, including power plants and other sources. The strategy is to apply chemical engineering science to understand and quantify the performance of MEA and piperazine absorption/stripping, then to develop innovative, evolutionary improvements.
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UT GeoFluids
Energy – Reservoir Geology & Simulation
UT GeoFluids studies the state and evolution of subsurface pressure, stress, deformation and fluid flow through experiments, models, and field study. Our findings are used to design stable and safe drilling programs, to predict hydrocarbon migration and entrapment, and to determine the seal capacity for C02 sequestration.
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Multi-Scale Rock Physics of Unconventional and Carbonate Reservoirs
Energy – Petrophysics
The UT Austin Multi-scale Rock Physics Research Program focuses on developing advanced methods and workflows for integrating multi-scale formation data (i.e., measured physical properties of rock-fluid systems from pore to reservoir scale) to enhance reservoir characterization of challenging formations. Examples of such formations include spatially heterogeneous, tight, unconventional (e.g., organic-rich mudrocks), and carbonate formations. The term unconventional refers to formations with complex pore/matrix structure and composition, where conventional rock physics methods fail to perform reliably. We jointly analyze the outcomes from experimental data, analytical rock physics model development, and numerical modeling to evaluate static and dynamic formation properties for reliable characterization of challenging reservoirs, with the intent to enhance production and recovery factors.
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Operating System 2.0
Construction
The Operating System 2.0 Industrial Affiliates Program (OS2 IAP) conducts research aimed at defining new ways of doing business in the capital projects industry. The goal is to unlock value that today’s engineering and construction industry simply cannot access. While the systems and work processes that manage capital projects have improved steadily in recent decades, the underlying business model binding investors with construction industry product and service providers is still characterized by a lack of trust, excessive friction in transactions, and burdensome financial waste – preventing real progress.
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Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery
Energy – Enhanced Oil Recovery
Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (CEOR) conducts research to improve displacement efficiency, sweep efficiency, and scale-up in petroleum reservoirs by cost effective chemical enhanced oil recovery processes.
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Center for Subsurface Modeling
Energy – Reservoir Simulation
The Center for Subsurface Modeling (CSM) is dedicated to developing solutions to tomorrow’s modeling challenges – today. At CSM, we actively work with industry and academia to deliver cutting edge scientific advancements in the form of toolsets for subsurface applications. Our research continually seeks to improve our physical understanding of subsurface phenomena using consistent mathematical modeling and advanced numerical solution techniques. We use high performance computing to reduce computational costs associated with complex models. CSM collaborations span across various disciplines to model flow and transport of fluids in reservoirs of varying complexities accounting for fluid phase behavior, geochemical reactions and geomechanical deformations. These modeling advancements are implemented in our in-house reservoir simulator (IPARS) or available as stand-alone toolsets for specific applications. Our model developments assist industrial affiliates in their field deployment efforts.
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Well Construction, Decommissioning, and Abandonment
Energy – Reservoir Drilling
The primary goal of the Well Construction, Decommissioning, and Abandonment (CODA) program is to research and develop new materials, systems, methods and computational models for successful, cost-effective, long-term well abandonment.
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Carbon Utilization & Storage
Energy – Global Warming & Environmental
The goal of Carbon Utilization, Storage, and Transportation (CARBON UT) is to develop novel solutions to the energy transition that satisfy energy demands, carbon balance, economic feasibility, and public acceptance. We focus on developing basic technologies needed in the energy transition, such as CO2 capture and direct conversion, geological carbon sequestration, bridging technologies for energy with less or no carbon emission, hydrogen production and supply chain, and renewable energy at low cost.
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Gulf of Mexico Basin Depositional Synthesis Project
Energy – Reservoir Geophysics
The Gulf of Mexico Basin Depositional Synthesis Project (GBDS) is a continuing industry-supported project that studies the Cenozoic and Mesozoic fill in the Gulf of Mexico. The goal of GBDS is to construct and maintain a detailed, comprehensive and integrated synthesis of the depositional history of the Gulf basin. GBDS has defined and mapped a gulf-wide Mesozoic and Cenozoic stratigraphic framework that provides its members context for regional play definition, deep slope and basin reservoir prediction, lease evaluation, and shelf carbon storage site evaluation. Well and seismic reflection correlations between continental margin and deep basin stratigraphies which allows for the investigation of paleogeography, source to sink sediment routing, and the spatial/temporal distribution of highest quality reservoir, source and seal rock. The project makes effective use of well logs, 2D and 3D seismic data, detrital zircon geothermochronology, subsurface pressure data, detailed sedimentological descriptions, and source rock analyses.
Discovery to Impact partners with researchers, inventors, investors, and entrepreneurs at every step of their journey in relentless pursuit of changing the world.