Ms. Kelsi Katcher is a Lead Engineer at Southwest Research Institute where she supports a variety of mechanical design and demonstration testing efforts. Through her 10 years at SwRI, Ms. Katcher has supported programs on natural gas pipeline compressors, methane leakage control and recovery, supercritical CO2 power cycles, and industrial decarbonization. Her experience includes component design, modelling of thermal fluid systems, test stand development, pilot test facility development, and demonstration testing efforts.

Day 2: Thursday January 15th | 15:30 – 16:00

Title: Decarbonizing Power and Flight: Technology Advances from SwRI

Abstract: Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is supporting broad and integrated technology development efforts to accelerate decarbonization across power generation and aviation—two sectors central to global climate goals. This presentation will highlight SwRI’s industry-driven portfolio with innovations spanning low-carbon fuels, advanced combustion and propulsion research, next-generation energy systems, and digital technologies that enhance efficiency and resilience.
In power generation, SwRI is pioneering breakthroughs in supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) Brayton-cycle systems, long-duration energy storage, integrated hybrid power-generation facilities, advanced materials for extreme environments, and hydrogen-compatible infrastructure. These efforts support the transition to cleaner thermal generation, flexible grid operation, and the reliable, economic integration of renewables. In aviation, SwRI is developing the engineering foundations for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), hydrogen and ammonia combustion, and advanced emissions characterization. Cross-cutting digital tools—including AI-driven diagnostics, physics-informed neural networks, machine-learning models, and autonomous inspection systems—have already been applied across the transportation sector and can be further leveraged to amplify the impact of ongoing hardware innovations.
Addressing decarbonization, not as a single-technology challenge, but as a coordinated effort that blends fuels, engines, energy systems, materials, and digital optimization, will be instrumental in achieving emission-reduction targets. This keynote will offer an overview of select decarbonization initiatives currently underway within SwRI and across the global power-generation and aviation industries.