Dr. Rita Esuru Okoroafor was selected to receive $1.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding is part of ARPA-E’s Exploratory Topics related to geologic hydrogen, which aim to explore early-stage research and development to advance low-cost, low-emissions hydrogen. This is the first time the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering is receiving funding from ARPA-E.
Okoroafor will lead a multi-institutional team, including the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Louisiana State University, in a two-year investigation. She aims to model the best, most efficient methods for producing hydrogen from subsurface ultramafic rocks.
“Low-cost, low-emission hydrogen production could revolutionize the energy landscape,” Okoroafor said. “This research aims to make that vision a reality.”
Okoroafor is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University specializing in applying oil and gas skills and techniques to address challenges associated with low-carbon energy technologies. Before joining Texas A&M, she was a principal reservoir engineer at SLB, a global technology company she worked with for 13 years.
Okoroafor’s current research encompasses geothermal reservoir engineering, carbon dioxide storage and utilization, geologic energy storage, and geological hydrogen. Okoroafor is an SPE Distinguished Lecturer for the 2023-2024 academic year. She leads the Texas A&M University Geothermal Consortium.