The Permian Energy Development Laboratory signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among seven New Mexico and Texas universities, two national laboratories and a centre for advanced energy research.

The MOU reflects a shared goal of conducting advanced energy research and deployment, educating the next generation of energy professionals, and supporting energy-intensive communities and the natural resources they depend on.

The lab’s scientific research and technology deployment efforts will focus on four primary areas of inquiry, including advanced energy, fuels, and integration; carbon and materials management; water, land, and agriculture; and economic development.

Education and workforce efforts will introduce students to advanced energy concepts to prepare them to excel in the technology and energy careers of the future, create higher education credentials that support employment in Texas’s cutting-edge energy industries; and encourage advanced energy job creation and entrepreneurship.

The lab’s community engagement efforts will include short- and long-term programmes, including town hall meetings to gather initial input for creating an entrepreneur resource centre and scholarship programmes to prepare students to work with new energy technologies.

The goal is to create opportunities for everyone living in and around the energy sector and share the benefits and costs fairly.

Texas and southeast New Mexico are positioned to lead the race to build the world’s next-generation energy technologies. The Permian Basin has the resources, know-how, and workforce to ensure success; and the Permian Energy Development Lab will ensure the region drives the global landscape of energy technologies.

Participating institutions to date include the Houston Advanced Research Center, Midland College, the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech, Odessa College, Sandia National Laboratories, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at El Paso, and The University of Texas Permian Basin. The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation launched the effort and continues to incubate the startup organisation.