Energy and innovation

University and national labs partnerships

We collaborate with leading universities and institutions around the world as part of our commitment to finding meaningful and scalable solutions to meet global energy demand, while also minimizing the environmental impacts of energy use, including the risks of climate change.

COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION

Fueling future energy discoveries

ExxonMobil continually looks for ways in which science and technology can help drive innovation in the work we do. Every day, we engage with diverse academic institutions to research and develop new solutions to help us meet society’s dual challenge: meeting energy needs while also minimizing the environmental impacts of energy use, including the risks of climate change.

Our work focuses on the research of breakthrough lower-emissions technologies, including advances in materials science and carbon capture and storage. These collaborative relationships with many of the world’s most advanced research colleges and universities can fuel new discoveries and empower advanced energy research.

>80

universities around the world which ExxonMobil has partnered with, including MIT, University of Texas, Stanford, National University of Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.

>20K

scientists and engineers employed by ExxonMobil, including more than 2,200 with Ph.Ds

$100M

investment over 10 years with U.S. Department of Energy’s National Labs.
NATIONAL LABS COLLABORATION

Developing breakthrough solutions

In addition to partnering with over 80 universities, ExxonMobil in 2019 proudly launched collaborative programs with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Together, we are working to develop scalable energy solutions and greenhouse gas mitigation technologies that make a global impact. The joint research will also investigate ways to reduce emissions from fuels and petrochemicals production.
Learn more about this partnership

innovative partnerships

Reducing methane emissions

ExxonMobil is working to find new and better ways to monitor and reduce methane emissions through a new collaboration involving universities, environmental groups and other industry partners.

Called Project Astra, the effort is focused on developing an innovative sensor network to continuously monitor methane emissions across large areas to enable quick and efficient detection and repair of leaks.

The company is working with the University of Texas, Gas Technology Institute, Environmental Defense Fund and Pioneer Natural Resources.

Project Astra will create a network of sensors to feed data to a central system that can quickly alert the right people to fix a leak. This high-frequency monitoring system will enable operators to more efficiently direct resources to a specific location. If successful, the project could provide a more affordable, efficient solution to reduce methane emissions.

ExxonMobil is also testing a host of other solutions, including satellites, aircraft and unmanned drones, to detect these emissions.

Take a deeper look at Project Astra

All articles about university partnerships

Collaborating with leading universities to meet global energy demand ExxonMobil has worked with dozens of leading universities and academic research institutions around the world as part of our commitment to finding meaningful and scalable solutions to meet global energy demand and reduce emissions.
Research partners
Article • Nov. 16, 2020
ExxonMobil expands agreement with Global Thermostat, sees promise in direct air capture technology IRVING, Texas – ExxonMobil and Global Thermostat have expanded their joint development agreement following 12 months of technical evaluation to determine the feasibility and potential scalability of Global Thermostat’s technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air.   
News
News releases • Sept. 21, 2020
ExxonMobil, Georgia Tech and Imperial College London publish joint research on potential breakthrough in membrane technology IRVING, Texas – Scientists from ExxonMobil, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Imperial College of London have published joint research on potential breakthroughs in a new membrane technology that could reduce emissions and energy intensity associated with refining crude oil. Laboratory tests indicate the patent-pending membrane could be used to replace some heat-intensive distillation at refineries in the years ahead.
News
News releases • July 17, 2020
Advancing Science: Partnering with the Department of Energy’s National Labs ExxonMobil will work with the Department of Energy’s National Labs to bring lower emission technologies to commercial scale. This work includes collaborative research in areas such as biofuels, carbon capture and storage, and lifecycle analysis.
Research partners
Article • April 20, 2020
Voices from the University of Texas labs
Research partners
Perspective • Jan. 30, 2020