The 5th Annual Meeting of the Energi Simulation Industrial Affiliate Program on Sustainable Energy Expansion (EnergiX) convened at the University of Texas at Austin from May 7–8, 2026, in the Zlotnik Ballroom at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center. The meeting was led by the Energi Simulation Research Chair and Principal Investigator, Dr. Ryosuke Okuno. The two-day event featured 14 technical presentations and five technical posters, and was attended by 35 participants: 29 in-person and 6 virtual.

Diverse topics presented included experimental and numerical modelling studies of aqueous CO₂ nanobubbles for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), ketone solvents for EOR, CO₂ injectivity, compositional reservoir simulation,  carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), non-thermal carbon capture, and carbonate stimulation. Guest presentations addressed CCS projects in Japan, retarded acid technologies, and reactive flow simulation in carbonate rocks.

Representatives in attendance from sponsors, industry, and academic institutions included Energi Simulation, INPEX Corporation, Japan Petroleum Exploration, Nissan Chemical Corporation, Occidental Petroleum, SLB, CNPC USA, Marubeni America Corporation, the Federal University of Pará, and the University of Alberta.

The program also included technical poster sessions and a laboratory tour in GLT.

Presented topics:

1. Overview (Speaker: Dr. Ryosuke Okuno)
2. Minimum supersaturation pressure (MSP) for aqueous nanobubble dispersions (Speaker: Mr. Oluwafemi P. Oyenowo)
3. Convective oil displacement by aqueous CO₂ nanobubble dispersion (Speaker: Dr. Daniel Fuentes-Ibarra)
4. Thermodynamic change for gas release in nanobubble EOR: temperature and pressure swing (Speaker: Dr. Tesleem Lawal)
5. Comparative study of ketone solvents for EOR in carbonates and shales (Speaker: Mr. Sunghyun Ko)
6. CCS projects in Japan (Speaker: Dr. Sho Hirose, JAPEX)
7. Sandtank experiment of CO₂ nano/microbubble injection (Speakers: Dr. Hailun Ni and Dr. Tesleem Lawal)
8. Nanoparticle well treatment for enhancing CO₂ injectivity in CCS (Speaker: Mr. Doguhan Barlas Sevindik)
9. Enabling a K-value compositional simulator for liquid-rich shale reservoirs (Speaker: Mr. Botong Deng)
10. What makes a CCUS project investable? A global investor’s view on the U.S. market (Speaker: Mr. Renta Hattori, Marubeni Corporation)
11. Non-thermal CO₂ capture as bicarbonate using electrodialysis (Speakers: Mr. Aayush Bendre and Ms. Hetvi Tambawala)
12. Advances in carbonate stimulation: unveiling the potential of single-phase retarded acids (SPRA) (Speaker: Dr. Murtaza Ziauddin, SLB)
13. Acid retardation in carbonate stimulation: emulsions and CO₂ nanobubbles (Speaker: Dr. Jaebum Park)
14. Reactive flow simulation in heterogeneous carbonate rocks using image-based porosity fields (Speaker: Dr. Pedro Aum, Federal University of Pará)

Poster presentations:

1. Native-fluid emulsion diverter for gas EOR in shales (Presenter: Mr. Sunghyun Ko)
2. Bicarbonate electrolysis to formic acid/formate (Presenter: Dr. Omar A. Carrasco Jaim)
3. Molecular dynamics simulation of aqueous nanobubble dispersions (Presenter: Dr. W. M. Uvin G. De Alwis)
4. Evaluation of U.S. underground natural gas storage for CO₂-based cushion gas replacement (Presenter: Dr. Abouzar Mirzaei Paiaman)
5. Advancing geologic CO₂ storage security: meter-scale visualization studies (Presenter: Dr. Hailun Ni)