During the early part of the 21st century, increasing imports of crude oil and
natural gas that threatened US energy security, and scientific evidence of
global warming, inspired visions of a hydrogen economy offering energy
independence without any need for fossil energy from coal, oil, or natural
gas. At that time fossil energy accounted for more than 85% of US energy
consumption, and it still accounts for nearly 80%. Combustion of fossil
energy releases 92% of total US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The most
cost-effective low carbon intensity hydrogen generation comes from fossil
energy. This presentation will explain how hydrogen can play an instrumental
role in cost effectively achieving goals for net zero GHG emissions by 2050
while improving quality of life.
Cullen Distinguished University Chair at the University of Houston. Prior to
her current position, Ehlig-Economides taught at Texas A&M University for
ten years and worked twenty years for Schlumberger. While at A&M, she
managed research in production and reservoir engineering in conventional
and shale reservoirs and helped the petroleum engineering department to
grow and evolve to a broader energy scope that she now leverages toward
research related to the energy transition. Ehlig-Economides was elected to
the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2003 and was a member of the
National Academy of Science Committee on America’s Energy Future and
the NRC Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (BEES). She chaired
The Academies of Medicine, Engineering, and Science in Texas (TAMEST)
shale task force in 2017. She currently is a Board member for QRI and
Omnes Fuel Technologies. She became an Honorary Member of the Society
of Petroleum Engineers in 2018. Ehlig-Economides earned a Bachelor of
Arts in Math-Science from Rice University, a Master of Science in chemical
engineering from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in petroleum
engineering from Stanford University.