The University of Houston’s Center for Carbon Management in Energy (CCME) participated in the 2025 American EPC Projects Forum in Houston on November 17–18, a gathering that brought together more than 300 delegates and 40 speakers representing LNG, hydrogen, ammonia, CCUS, and low-carbon fuels.
CCME Executive Director Charles McConnell delivered the presentation “Energy Transformation: Winds of Change,” emphasizing the essential role of engineering, carbon management, and execution excellence in enabling lower-carbon energy systems and sustaining industrial competitiveness. CCME’s involvement reflected the Forum’s central message: the success of the energy transition depends not only on technological innovation, but also on the effectiveness of project financing, contracting, and execution.
Notable sessions were held on such topics as EPC risk allocation, modularization strategies, supply-chain resilience, and the integration of carbon capture into large-scale industrial assets. These discussions underscored the growing need for practical, scalable solutions that balance cost, performance, and emissions reduction and reinforced the importance of disciplined project development, an approach that aligns closely with CCME’s research priorities and its ongoing collaborations with industry partners.
Zhiyuan Li, UH PhD student in Petroleum Engineering, also represented CCME and engaged with EPC executives, technology developers, and project managers throughout the event. “The Forum offered a valuable perspective on how engineering decisions, economic considerations, and carbon-reduction objectives converge in real project execution,” Li said. “It was insightful to see how CCUS and low-carbon technologies are evaluated not only technically, but also in terms of schedule certainty, supply-chain complexity, and contracting strategy. The discussions also highlighted how diverse industries—from surface-facility engineering to data centers to pump manufacturers—play interconnected roles in enabling large-scale carbon-management solutions.”
For CCME, the event was a great opportunity to gain an important perspective on how industry views first-of-a-kind (FOAK) low-carbon deployments. Discussions at the Forum emphasized the need for stronger partnerships between technology developers, EPC firms, and research institutions to reduce risk and accelerate commercial adoption. These insights align directly with CCME’s mission to serve as a bridge between academic research and industry implementation, ensuring that carbon-management technologies are both scientifically robust and commercially deployable.
Through its engagement at the 2025 American EPC Projects Forum, CCME strengthened its connection to industry leaders, supported student development, and advanced its broader mission of enabling practical, engineering-based pathways for a lower-carbon energy future.