Published April 18, 2023
By Christine Reed
The School of Energy Resources (SER) is pleased to welcome Dayana Zhappassova to the research team in the Hydrogen Energy Research Center (H2ERC).
Originally from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Zhappassova earned her Bachelor’s degree in Finance and her Master’s in Economics from the University of Wyoming. Before joining SER, she previously worked in the Peter M. & Paula Green Johnson Student Success Center at the College of Business. In addition to her new role in H2ERC, she is concurrently working on her Ph.D. in Economics at UW.
“I am very excited to be here, especially in H2ERC” says Zhappassova. “Wyoming is an energy-focused state so it plays a huge role in the viability of our economy and the wellness of the communities. Hydrogen is a new and exciting area of interest with a lot of potential in storage, transportation, and in our efforts to minimize CO2 emissions. I’m excited to be at the forefront of this research.”
Zhappassova brings with her an abundance of knowledge and training in analyzing emerging markets, and has cultivated an area of specialization in economic rationale and decision making. She will be applying her expertise on the carbon capture and net-zero efforts being led in the Center, with the first area of focus being on water-related issues.
“The most immediate project that I am working on is looking at produced water from oil and gas operations and opportunities to reuse that water in hydrogen production,” she says. “Water management in general is a really important topic to consider since it is a scarce and valuable resource in Wyoming. In order to produce hydrogen from electrolysis, the water needs to be ultra-pure and while treatment costs for produced water are high, so too are produced water disposal costs for oil and gas companies. We want to see if it is feasible to mutually offset those costs, and turn a potential waste product in one industry into a valuable and affordable commodity in another.”
Exploring the most recent market and policy developments for new energy technologies is fundamentally important to SER’s mission and is of increasing importance for the Department of Energy, says H2ERC Director Eugene Holubnyak.
“Conducting a techno-economic assessment of resources is mission-critical at SER,” Holubnyak says. “In recent years, the demand for economists has grown and we are very happy to have our first economist on staff to help drive this important work forward. Specifically, Dayana’s background in behavioral economics will be an asset in understanding developing market behaviors, and her proficiency in this area will be helpful in determining what that will look like in Wyoming.”
While Zhappassova’s research contributions will be of tremendous importance to the state, they also have the potential to have wider impacts on a global and a personal level.
“Like Wyoming, I come from an energy-focused region of Kazakhstan that is abundant in natural resources, including coal,” she says. “However, as is the case in many developing countries, those resources have not necessarily been extracted in the most responsible ways. By developing and integrating new energies that can be sustainable and shared with other countries, our efforts will also have a positive impact in developing economies.”
