From its location in the energy capital of the world — Houston, Texas — the Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy provides critical insights on the world’s complex and evolving energy landscape. By conducting data-centric research and nonpartisan analysis rooted in fundamental principles, the CES provides a trusted voice that investigates the drivers of energy market evolution, including but not limited to market design, policy and regulation, technology adoption, climate change, sustainability objectives and geopolitics.  

The CES is widely recognized for its depth and insight, having been recognized at the top of the energy field by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tanks and Civil Society Program for three consecutive years before being named a “Center of Excellence.” It is also a past recipient of the prestigious USAEE Adelman-Frankel Award for “unique and innovative contributions to the field of energy.” CES fellows and scholars have also been individually recognized domestically and internationally, and their experience and expertise span a wide range of backgrounds — from strategic and analytical roles in industry and regulatory roles in government, to energy and environmental law, field work in journalism and various roles in academia — giving a unique, multidisciplinary and global perspective on energy-related issues. The interdisciplinary team of CES fellows and scholars is frequently called to provide briefings to U.S. government officials, world leaders and top industry professionals on a variety of issues. In the last decade, CES experts have delivered 17 congressional testimonies and worked with members of the U.S. House and Senate, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Commerce. They have also conducted an average of 23 ministerial-level briefings per year spanning 43 countries.

Some of the most challenging questions faced by society today require a holistic approach to achieve environmentally, socially and economically sustainable answers. By working across programmatic strengths in an interdisciplinary manner, CES fellows and scholars aim to elevate discourse and achieve workable, scalable solutions. CES programs and select areas of research include:

• Electricity markets — reliability, market design and grid evolution
• Minerals and materials — materials transitions, cost of supply, supply chains and marine minerals
• Environment and sustainability — waste, circularity, engineered and nature-based CO₂ sequestration, hydrogen and water
• Geopolitics — particularly Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East
• Global crude oil — market evolution, threat assessment, security of supply and decarbonization
• Global natural gas — LNG, methane emissions and security of supply
• Transportation — transport corridor development, links to industrialization and the future of fuels

The programmatic efforts of CES fellows and scholars reveal several fundamental points that underscore CES research and highlight the risks and opportunities in an evolving global energy ecosystem.