The University of Houston Energy Transition and the Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy team up to tackle plastic waste.
The University of Houston Energy Transition Institute (UH-ETI) and the Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy are launching a strategic partnership to advance scalable, market-ready solutions for plastics circularity. By integrating world-class science and engineering with data-driven policy and economics, the collaboration aims to bridge the gap between laboratory breakthrough and industrial application.
This partnership aligns research, technology innovation and cross-sector engagement to address systemic challenges across materials, energy and industrial systems — positioning Houston and the Gulf Coast as a global leader in circular carbon and resource innovation.
The memorandum of understanding was signed March 25 at CERAWeek, the world’s premier energy conference in Houston that brings together leaders from the energy, technology and financial sectors.
“Our research has shown that a uniform approach may be the best way for the U.S. to tackle plastic waste,” said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation at UH. “By partnering with Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, we will be better positioned to deliver real-world solutions that advance a circular plastics economy.”
“By partnering with Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, we will be better positioned to deliver real-world solutions that advance a circular plastics economy.”
—Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation, University of Houston
While UH-ETI focuses on practical solutions spanning circularity, energy systems and carbon management, the Baker Institute’s CES provides the data-driven research on energy markets that will be crucial to helping these solutions scale. Together, the institutes will share data, insights and networks to advance solutions benefiting the environment, economy and society. Initial efforts will focus on advanced recycling pathways, policy frameworks, emerging technologies and stakeholder engagement to accelerate deployment.
“Houston sits at the center of the global plastics and petrochemical value chain, which makes it uniquely positioned to lead in circular solutions,” said Rachel Meidl, deputy director of CES. “This partnership is about moving beyond theory and bringing together data, policy and industry insight to accelerate technologies and frameworks that can scale.”
The first event from this collaboration will take place on April 22 at the Baker Institute’s Annual Sustainability Summit. This year’s summit, focused on circularity and supply chain resilience, will convene researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and students to examine sustainability challenges through a systems-level perspective.
A Broader Vision for Circularity
This partnership is the latest development in a growing body of work at UH focused on circular systems and resource innovation. It builds directly on a recent UH-ETI white paper that recommends better data sharing, aligning state policies and reinvesting recycling fees into infrastructure to transform how the U.S. manages plastic waste.
The University’s impact extends beyond plastics. UH researchers are currently pioneering circular systems to secure U.S. critical minerals independence. Research led by Professor Jian Shi unveiled a breakthrough supply chain model designed to improve the economics of large-scale recycling and transform electronic waste from a mounting environmental hazard into a viable domestic source of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and gold – materials essential to advanced technologies and economic security.
By transforming waste into a strategic asset, UH is not just solving today’s environmental challenges, it is working to advance solutions that ensure the Gulf Coast remains the global heart of energy and materials innovation for decades to come.