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2025 Energy Forum

Thursday, May 8, 2025

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

2025 TIEEP Spring Energy Forum

Date & Time: Thursday, May 8, 2025, 4:00-6:00pm

Theme: Back to Basics

Venue: Hybrid Event. You can join us in-person at , or

Cost: Energy Forum attendance — both online and in-person — is FREE.

Additional Details: Hybrid event. This event is co-hosted by TIEEP and STS-AIChE.

PDH certificates available.

Event Overview

Energy accounts for up to 30% of operating expenses in oil refineries and chemical plants. Improving energy efficiency reduces costs, improves profitability, and increases competitiveness. In this year’s TIEEP Spring Energy Forum, we will go back to the basics to explore some fundamental energy efficiency tactics.


CONFIRMED SPEAKERS AND TOPICS

Grant Jacobson, Division Manager, Energy & Fired Heater Services Division, BECHT

Mr. Jacobson has experience in design, operation, optimization of process equipment and operations management of cross-functional teams. At Valero Energy, he led multiple operational practices improvement focusing on equipment preparation and troubleshooting as well as building toolsets and polices to facilitate continued operational excellence. With ExxonMobil while supporting refinery units as a process engineer, he helped develop and lead strategic, quick payback projects to help reinforce refinery profitability during poor market conditions. He has extensive process engineering experience coupled with hands on, in the field, operational know how to drive elegant and practical solutions. Mr. Jacobson has supported or operated every major refinery process unit across his years of industry experience. Since 2020 at Becht, he has focused on holistic troubleshooting and improvement initiatives on fired equipment and energy optimization. He is a thermography subject matter expert with extensive experience with IR cameras/pyrometers as well as contact pyrometers (Goldcup).

Back to PRACTICAL Energy Optimization

Becht’s PEAK (Practical Energy Assessment Kit) offers a structured, site-wide evaluation of energy management practices and system performance to identify low-capital opportunities for improvement. This discussion will focus on a recent assessment at a major North American fuels refinery revealed actionable gaps across operations, monitoring, and organizational alignment. The site’s initial PEAK score of 33% reflected opportunities to improve visibility and use of Key Energy Variables (KEVs), empower operators, and strengthen accountability within the energy program.

The refinery demonstrated a strong foundation, including a collaborative work culture and openness to energy-focused initiatives. However, common inefficiencies—such as excess steam use, flaring, furnace tuning gaps, and under-monitored systems—were identified as key contributors to avoidable energy losses.

PEAK focuses on optimizing existing assets and practices rather than requiring large capital investments. The resulting improvement roadmap outlines practical steps to build internal capability, integrate energy goals with business drivers, and implement targeted system-level changes. With consistent effort, the site is positioned to improve its energy program maturity PEAK score to 55% within 12–24 months.

This approach delivers more than energy savings—it drives cultural alignment, operational discipline, and measurable progress against sustainability goals. PEAK is an example of getting back to the basics for organizations with a repeatable framework to benchmark performance, prioritize initiatives, and accelerate improvement.

Jim Saccone, SVP of Global Sales at Skyven Technologies

Jim Saccone is SVP of Global Sales at Skyven Technologies, an Energy-as-a-Service company pioneering its cutting-edge Arcturus industrial steam-generating heat pump. Jim has over 25 years of experience leading sales strategy and execution for large multinationals, most recently at Baker Hughes. He brings expertise in mega-project sales, most recently in the rotating equipment machinery space, such as large turbines and compressors, in the energy, oil & gas, and chemical sectors. Jim holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, and served in the US Army following graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The Role of Steam-Generating Heat Pumps in Boosting Energy Efficiency While Reducing Operating Costs in Industrial Manufacturing

Industrial manufacturing requires high-temperature, high-pressure steam for on-site production processes. For the past 100+ years, fossil-fuel powered boilers have been the only cost-effective way to generate steam. Innovative technologies such as steam-generating heat pumps (SGHP) electrify steam production with greater efficiency than legacy boilers, thereby reducing energy costs for manufacturers of energy-intensive facilities.

Industrial manufacturing facilities typically generate vast amounts of waste heat from their on-site processes. Current practice often leads to underutilization of this thermal energy, resulting in higher reliance on fossil fuel-based steam generation. Steam generating heat pumps offer a solution by capturing low-grade waste heat and upgrading it to produce high-temperature, high-pressure boiler quality steam. This technology improves energy efficiency, delivers significant cost savings over time, and reduces on-site emissions. The Skyven Arcturus SGHP is a fully interruptible, grid-flexible technology that generates boiler quality steam at the lowest cost.

Program Overview The mission of the Texas Industrial Energy Efficiency Program (TIEEP) is to provide thought-leadership, sharing ideas, technologies, opportunities and timely information to Texas industries on ever-improving energy intensity, reduced environmental impact, resilience, and enhanced social and economic development. TIEEP’s industry focus is the oil refining and chemicals sectors. TIEEP is organized by UH Energy, and funded through a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO).

Sustainability Engineer, ExxonMobil



Angel Lanza is a distinguished Chemical Engineer with over 22 years of expertise in energy optimization, fluid dynamics, and advanced process modeling, including hydraulic modeling for upstream drilling operations. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Western University, Canada. Throughout his career, Dr. Lanza has contributed significantly to research, engineering, and operational excellence. Currently, he is based in Houston, TX, where he works as a Sustainability Engineer for ExxonMobil. Dr. Lanza is dedicated to driving innovation in the energy sector. Outside of his professional endeavors,

A title for talk: Enterprise-wide Energy Efficiency Fleet Monitoring Tool

“Energy fleets, such as fired heaters and boilers, are the primary energy consumers for refineries and petrochemical facilities. Overall facility energy efficiency improves with the improved energy performance of energy fleets. Therefore, it is important to routinely track the performance of energy-consuming equipment. This helps to identify maintenance requirements in a timely manner and improve energy efficiency.”

Yve Hunt, Founder, Terra Viva Energy- Keynote Speaker for AlChE Dinner Meeting

Yve Hunt is the founder of Terra Viva Energy, a company dedicated to optimizing energy efficiency through advanced real-time monitoring and analytics. With a background in electrical project management, including the installation of renewable energy systems such as wind and solar, as well as energy efficiency technologies, Yve brings a unique blend of technical expertise and strategic problem-solving to the energy sector.

Passionate about sustainability, Yve believes that energy efficiency is the foundation of a smarter, cleaner future. Her work focuses on leveraging IoT, big data, and AI to help businesses reduce energy waste, lower operational costs, and improve equipment reliability. She emphasizes energy monitoring as the first step toward achieving sustainability goals and collaborates with organizations to reduce their carbon footprint while improving operational performance.

Committed to sharing knowledge, Yve empowers businesses to take control of their energy use and make data-driven decisions that drive long-term success.

The First Step to Efficiency: How Real-Time Monitoring Prevents Equipment Failures and Reduces Energy Waste

Energy efficiency isn’t just about using less power—it’s about using energy smarter. In industrial environments, unnoticed inefficiencies and equipment failures lead to skyrocketing costs, unplanned downtime, and increased carbon footprints. The first step to tackling these challenges is real-time energy monitoring.

This talk will explore how real-time energy data enables businesses to proactively manage equipment performance, detect early signs of failure, and optimize maintenance schedules before costly breakdowns occur. By leveraging IoT-powered monitoring solutions, companies can gain actionable insights into their energy consumption, reduce waste, and extend the lifespan of critical machinery.

We’ll discuss real-world case studies demonstrating how data-driven energy management has helped industrial facilities lower operational costs and improve system reliability. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how continuous monitoring is the foundation of an effective energy strategy—one that not only drives efficiency but also enhances long-term sustainability.

STS-AIChE Dinner Meeting

The TIEEP Energy Forum will be followed by STS-AIChE’s monthly dinner meeting program at the same venue. This includes:

4:00-6:00 TIEEP Energy Forum

6:00-6:30 Mixer

6:30 - 7:15 Dinner

7:15-7:30 Dessert / Coffee / Announcements / Section Updates

7:30 -8:30 Keynote Presentation

Registration for the dinner meeting program, both online and in-person, is available

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