The Energy Institute, UT Austin

The Energy Institute, UT Austin A professional voice on all things energy at The University of Texas at Austin.

The Energy Institute fosters interdisciplinary interactions among colleges and schools across campus, while serving as a portal for external audiences interested in learning more about energy research carried out at The University of Texas at Austin. The Institute leverages the expertise of faculty to study critical energy policy questions, and is dedicated to broadening the educational experience

of students by creating a community of scholars around energy issues of importance to Texas, the nation and the world. The activities of the Energy Institute are organized around four pillars:
• Policy
• Education
• Research
• Commercialization

In consultation with its Advisory Board, which includes deans from seven colleges and schools on The University of Texas at Austin campus, as well as energy industry leaders, the Energy Institute has developed a strategic plan that embodies its mission and core areas of focus.

New episode of Between Two Cacti!Brian Korgel sits down with Nick Clausi, VP of Research at ExxonMobil and a UT Austin a...
09/03/2026

New episode of Between Two Cacti!

Brian Korgel sits down with Nick Clausi, VP of Research at ExxonMobil and a UT Austin alum, and Haibin Xu, former General Manager of Shell's Research Alliance, to discuss industry-university partnerships.

They cover why UT is Shell's number one global recruiting source and what companies like ExxonMobil and Shell look for when they engage with academia.

Listen to the conversation here: https://energy.utexas.edu/between-two-cacti

We’re excited to welcome Steve LeVine, journalist, author, and editor of The Electric, for a deep dive into one of the b...
09/02/2026

We’re excited to welcome Steve LeVine, journalist, author, and editor of The Electric, for a deep dive into one of the biggest questions in energy today: should the U.S. import batteries from China or manufacture them domestically?

Steve has spent decades reporting from the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the Caspian region, writing for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, and Newsweek. His work now focuses on the future of batteries and the technologies they unlock.

In this talk, he’ll unpack how the U.S. can still compete in batteries by scaling emerging chemistries while strategically using the components China already dominates.

Join us to discover how industrial continuity, smart policy, and rapid deployment are key in advancing the battery industry.

Event details: https://energy.utexas.edu/events/why-us-should-race-post-haste-use-chinas-batteries

The UT Energy Symposium kicks off the year with timely insights from Dr. Ehud Ronn, Professor of Finance at UT’s McCombs...
08/28/2026

The UT Energy Symposium kicks off the year with timely insights from Dr. Ehud Ronn, Professor of Finance at UT’s McCombs School of Business, who will give a talk titled “Financial Oil Market Metrics for Geopolitical Crises.”

This presentation will explore how geopolitical crises in the Middle East shape oil market behavior. Using the current Persian Gulf conflict as a case study, Professor Ronn will explain three critical indicators:

- Oil spot prices
- Oil futures prices and the slope of the futures curve
- Measures derived from oil options markets (including implied volatility (OVX) and the volatility “skew”).

Join us to understand how oil prices reflect expectations of supply disruptions, persistence of risk, and market uncertainty about future prices.

Event details: https://energy.utexas.edu/events/financial-oil-market-metrics-geopolitical-crises

08/26/2026

What does it take to turn energy policy into law, and what happens after the bill is signed?

In two conversations recorded a year apart, Brian Korgel sat down with Luke Bassett to discuss the journey of landmark legislation from drafting through implementation.

From his unique vantage serving first as Senior Advisor on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and later in the U.S. Treasury Inflation Reduction Act Program Office, Luke shares an inside perspective on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

They dive into how the IRA’s “direct pay” provision would support tax-exempt organizations like universities, rural co-ops, and local governments; how hydrogen hubs made their way into legislation; and what it’s like to move from shaping policy on Capitol Hill to implementing it at Treasury.

Two episodes. One conversation about how energy policy moves from idea to real-world impact.

Listen to the conversation here: https://energy.utexas.edu/between-two-cacti

08/19/2026

New episode of 🌵 Between Two Cacti 🌵!

In this latest episode, Brian Korgel sits down with Ira Ehrenpreis, the founder and managing partner of DBL Partners and longtime independent Tesla board member. They discuss impact investing, the importance of strategic partnerships for energy startups, and what actually drives energy innovation.

Listen to the conversation here: https://energy.utexas.edu/between-two-cacti

08/12/2026

New episode of 🌵 Between Two Cacti 🌵! At Hydrogen Day 2024, Energy Institute Director Brian Korgel sat down with Liz Ramsey Dalton, Co-Founder and Partner at Mission Strategies and then Executive Director of the HyVelocity Hub, to discuss what it takes to build a clean hydrogen hub from the ground up.

The University of Texas at Austin is the lead university and a founding partner of the HyVelocity Hub, a consortium of industry and community partners laying the groundwork for a thriving hydrogen ecosystem in the Gulf Coast.
Listen to the conversation here: https://energy.utexas.edu/between-two-cacti

Need more hydrogen? Join Brian Korgel for “An Introduction to Hydrogen: Technology, Policy, and Opportunity,” a self-paced course covering the full hydrogen value chain, with no engineering background required, and save the date for Hydrogen Day 2026: October 8-9.https://executive.engr.utexas.edu/prof-dev/courses/intro-to-hydrogen-tech

08/05/2026

Check out the latest episode of 🌵 Between Two Cacti 🌵 from UT Energy Week 2025!

EI Director Brian Korgel sits down with Marilu Hastings, founder of The Meridian House and Permian Energy Development Lab (PEDL) and Chair of the UT Energy Institute Advisory Board. Before launching The Meridian House, Marilu was Executive Vice President of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.

They discuss Texas's looming challenge of doubling grid capacity, the critical intersection of energy demand and water scarcity, the Permian Energy Development Lab (PEDL), and the role of philanthropy in bridging scientific research to real-world policy.

Listen here: https://energy.utexas.edu/between-two-cacti

Did you miss any sessions from UT Energy Week 2026? No worries, you can still catch all the major highlights! We’ve uplo...
07/31/2026

Did you miss any sessions from UT Energy Week 2026? No worries, you can still catch all the major highlights! We’ve uploaded full sessions covering everything from grid modernization and nuclear innovation to the massive electricity demands of today's data centers.

Head over to the Energy Institute YouTube channel to browse the playlists and catch up!

https://www.youtube.com/

07/29/2026

Check out this insightful episode of 🌵 Between Two Cacti 🌵 recorded at UT Energy Week 2025!

Director Brian Korgel sits down with Audrey Robat, VP of Finance and CFO of ENGIE North America.

They discuss ENGIE's 150-year journey as a global utility, how the company became responsible for roughly 40% of Texas's battery storage capacity, and how a 150-year-old utility navigates policy uncertainty and the explosive growth in power demand.

It's a fascinating look at batteries and their role in the future of the Texas grid.

Listen here: https://energy.utexas.edu/between-two-cacti

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Flawn Academic Center, FAC 344, 2304 Whitis Avenue
Austin, TX
78712

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