
2026 Shell TechXplorer Digest: shaping technical solutions
This edition of Shell TechXplorer Digest focuses on how technical solutions help drive innovation and discovery. Research partnerships, internship programmes and other forms of collaboration create a powerful synergy, amplifying and accelerating this process and illuminating the path towards future breakthroughs.
Evren Unsal, Executive Editor Shell TechXplorer"Read on to find out more about how Shell’s scientists, engineers, technicians and interns are working to meet the challenges of a changing energy landscape"
Cautionary note
Cautionary note
Shell TechXplorer Digest showcases the breadth and depth of scientifi c research and technology applications within Shell. Most of the articles presented here are written by the Shell scientists, engineers and technicians who have worked on the development and deployment of these technologies, the partners who help make this possible, and the support staff who enable their real-world application. In the spirit of open innovation, Shell TechXplorer Digest provides a medium through which these authors can communicate their achievements to a wider readership.
CAUTIONARY NOTE
The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Group” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. The term “joint venture”, “joint operations”, “joint arrangements”, and “associates” may also be used to refer to a commercial arrangement in which Shell has a direct or indirect ownership interest with one or more parties. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
Forward-looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”; “ambition”; ‘‘anticipate’’; ‘‘believe’’; “commit”; “commitment”; ‘‘could’’; ‘‘estimate’’; ‘‘expect’’; ‘‘goals’’; ‘‘intend’’; ‘‘may’’; “milestones”; ‘‘objectives’’; ‘‘outlook’’; ‘‘plan’’; ‘‘probably’’; ‘‘project’’; ‘‘risks’’; “schedule”; ‘‘seek’’; ‘‘should’’; ‘‘target’’; ‘‘will’’; “would” and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, regional conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, and a significant cybersecurity breach; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 (available at www.shell.com/investors/news-and-filings/sec-filings.html and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, January 23, 2026. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.
Shell’s Net Carbon Intensity
Also, in this announcement we may refer to Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity” (NCI), which includes Shell’s carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers’ carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers’ carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell’s NCI also includes the emissions associated with the production and use of energy products produced by others which Shell purchases for resale. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the terms Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity” or NCI are for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.
Shell’s net-zero emissions target
Shell’s operating plan, outlook and budgets are forecasted for a ten-year period and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next ten years. Accordingly, they reflect our Scope 1, Scope 2 and NCI targets over the next ten years. However, Shell’s operating plans cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target, as this target is currently outside our planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell’s operating plans to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target.
Forward-looking non-GAAP measures
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures such as cash capital expenditure and divestments. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of Shell, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements.
The contents of websites referred to in this announcement do not form part of this announcement.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov
Regular features
Note from Evren Unsal
Welcome to the latest edition of Shell TechXplorer Digest. This issue’s theme is “shaping technical solutions” – but how are emerging trends shaping the future research landscape? What will be the influence of external collaborations, including those that work across borders? How are internal collaborations, such as internships, benefiting the participants and their hosts? How are Shell’s New Energy Challenge (now in its 10th year), Shell GameChanger and Shell Ventures influencing developments, and what is the role of innovation hubs? In the pages that follow, our authors will seek to answer these questions.
Evren Unsal
Executive Editor, Shell TechXplorer
Read the entire message from the editor
Xplore: the New Energy Challenge
A decade of competition and open innovation. Past winners and finalists discuss 10 years of the NEC and how it could benefit the transition to a low-carbon future.
Read about the New Energy Challenge
Interview: the value of internships for corporates
We asked four recent graduates of Shell’s internship programme at Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam about the experience and their plans for the future.
Perfect Partners: LeapSprong
Accelerating innovation: LeapSprong is stepping up to Amsterdam’s industrial energy transition LeapSprong organisers Silke von Solinge, Roy de Weerd and Kirsten Gesink discuss the programme’s mission.
Photography at Shell
Showcasing the work of the Shell Photographers Viva Engage group: going against the current.
Award from AGH University Kraków
TechXplorer Digest Executive Editor Evren Unsal received the award for Best Industrial Partner on behalf of Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam and Shell.
Read about the AGH Kraków award
Transition
Exploring the Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation in Brazil
The University of São Paulo, the São Paulo Research Foundation and Shell Brasil are collaborating in a joint initiative.
Carbon credibility: transforming soil measurement
Shell’s Nature Based Solutions team is advancing the next generation of measurement and modelling technologies for monitoring soil carbon and land management.
Read about next generation soil measurement
A more efficient DC–DC converter: improving EV charging and more
A team from Shell Technology has demonstrated the capabilities and potential of a new 20-kW prototype DC–DC converter for charging electric vehicles.
Read about the new DC-DC converter
Overpressure in hydrogen vents: towards a reliable methodology
Hydrogen is gaining popularity as an alternative fuel, but its potential explosion hazard poses specific challenges.
Read about hydrogen overpressure
Project Fleming: an open-source discovery tool
Shell’s inner source enablement team has created the AI-Powered Discovery Tool and an open-source variant.
Read about AI-powered discovery
Direct air capture using a hybrid approach
A circular and scalable route to decarbonisation in support of the energy transition.
Read about hybrid direct air capture
Reactor design for a greener future
Comparing isothermal and adiabatic methanation under renewable energy fluctuations.
Training hybrid methods to enhance search engines
A collaborative Shell internship project with Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam partner Huracán Technical Advisory combined retrieval-augmented generation with requirement extraction tools.
Read about enhancing search engines
Techno-economic and environmental hydrogen supply chain evaluation
A Shell internship study developed an integrated framework for determining levelised cost of hydrogen and its associated carbon intensity.
Read about hydrogen supply chain
Balancing renewable energy intermittency: a scenario analysis project
A Shell-supervised team from AGH University of Kraków worked on the Balancing Renewable Intermittency with Solar and Energy Storage (BRISE) project.
Funding, partners and scientific success: data-driven R&D investment
An analysis of Horizon Europe-funded research uncovers what drives successful scientific outcomes, offering insights for funders and guiding Shell’s investment in energy-transition R&D.
Harnessing hydrodynamics to boost seagrass carbon storage
A team of Nature Based Solutions researchers at Shell set out to enhance our understanding of the limitations and potential of seagrass meadows in carbon sequestration.
Read about seagrass carbon storage
ORYZA+: the next generation of rice greenhouse gas modelling
An innovative monitoring, reporting and verification solution helps scalable, credible greenhouse gas measurements from rice paddies globally.


