University of Houston leads collaborative effort to improve Gulf Coast workforce development and community benefits in the unfolding energy transition

Project to provide training and resources needed to access jobs in the new hydrogen economy

University of Houston

Key Takeaways:

• Focus on Underserved Communities: The project aims to ensure disadvantaged communities along Texas’s Gulf Coast benefit from the emerging hydrogen economy.
• Workforce Development: A key goal is to involve local communities in planning workforce opportunities and provide training programs tailored to their needs.
• Creation of a Toolkit: The project will develop a publicly available online toolkit to guide workforce engagement to ensure equitable access to emerging job opportunities.

 

HOUSTON, October 04, 2024 –The U.S. Department of Energy has selected a University of Houston-led project to receive funding as part of a $62 million effort to advance clean hydrogen technologies nationwide – it is the only one from Texas. Titled "Equitable Workforce Opportunities: Engaging Gulf Coast Communities in their Clean Energy Economy," the project is one of four chosen under the “Equitable Hydrogen Technology Community Engagement” category to begin contract negotiations, which when successfully completed will lead to $1 million in funding. The project team includes MRSW Management, Houston Advanced Research Center, Houston Community College and Lamar University.

UH – The Energy University – is a Tier One public research university, a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution that serves Houston and the Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class research and innovation, experiential learning, and strategic industry partnerships.

Clean hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier and key for industries like fertilizer production and steelmaking. It can be produced from various clean energy sources, including renewables, nuclear, and fossil fuels with carbon capture. Its ability to reduce emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as industrial processes and heavy transportation, makes it crucial in addressing the climate crisis. Additionally, it can serve as long-duration energy storage to support renewable energy expansion.

“America is leading the world in the development and deployment of clean hydrogen—a versatile fuel critical to reducing emissions from the most energy-intensive and polluting sectors of our economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in the DOE press release.

Local Impact of a National Initiative

This project aligns with the goals of Invest in America's Workforce, a federal initiative aimed at strengthening the U.S. labor force. The initiative focuses on preparing workers for jobs in emerging industries like clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and infrastructure development.

As the nation shifts toward a clean energy future, the Texas Gulf Coast — long dominated by the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries — stands at the forefront of a new economic opportunity. The UH collaborative effort aims to ensure underserved and disadvantaged communities in the region, particularly in areas like Chambers, Galveston, Harris, and Jefferson Counties, are not left behind in this transition to the hydrogen economy and reshape how energy investments benefit local communities.

“Historically, many of these communities have not been included in the planning or decision-making processes related to workforce development in the energy sector. This project seeks to change that by placing community input at the heart of future planning,” said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation at UH and principal investigator on the project.

“The current Community Benefits Plan process, while important, is often confusing or unknown to the very people it aims to help,” he added. “By listening to community members, engaging with educators and tailoring workforce training and experiential learning to meet their specific needs, we hope to make real, meaningful impact.”

A Toolkit for Workforce Engagement

Ensuring that local communities, particularly those in fence-line areas near industrial operations, have a say in how the hydrogen economy develops, is key, according to Krishnamoorti. As the project moves forward, the team will continue to engage with local communities, workforce training providers, and other stakeholders to collaboratively build a knowledgebase of needs, challenges, solutions and opportunities, emphasizing equitable access to emerging jobs in the new hydrogen economy.

Besides developing a multilingual outreach program, the team will also set up workforce councils – comprised of representatives from organizations providing workforce development resources and services and community leaders –in the project’s target area for facilitating continuous open communication between the team and all stakeholders.

Central to the team’s effort is the creation of a publicly available online toolkit that will serve as a resource for Community Benefits Plans and hydrogen hubs nationwide, with a special emphasis on Texas’s HyVelocity Hub. The toolkit will provide a clear process for building workforce engagement programs, updating technical trade curriculums, and setting targets for inclusive and equitable access. Most importantly, it will be shaped by direct input from the residents most affected by energy industry transitions.

In addition to the toolkit, the team will develop an inventory of the resources and services available to residents in each county.  Webinars will also be offered to help other regions replicate the process, creating a nationwide network of community-driven workforce opportunities.

The end goal is to build a more inclusive approach to workforce development that can be scaled across the country.

“This effort is about building a stronger, more inclusive workforce,” Krishnamoorti said. “We’re committed to ensuring that the benefits of the clean energy transition reach those who need them most.”

To learn more about this DOE initiative and the other projects, read the DOE press release.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution with enrollment of more than 46,000 students.