CSU lands $3.5 million methane emissions test site

Colorado State University will soon be a hub for national research on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas and side effect of natural gas production.

A team of CSU researchers just landed a $3.5 million Department of Energy grant to create and operate a facility to simulate a range of natural gas production systems and test new technologies for sensing methane. The grant will be awarded over three years.

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The CSU team will work with the Colorado School of Mines to design, build and operate the facility on CSU property near Fort Collins, according to a university press release. The facility will host sub-facilities to simulate steps of the natural gas supply chain, including dry and wet gas production, midstream compression, metering and regulating stations and underground pipelines.

"Our job is to assist in bringing these technologies to market," said Daniel Zimmerle, principal investigator on the research team and a senior research associate at the CSU Energy Institute, in the CSU press release. "We'll help companies prove out solutions in a controlled environment prior to deployment in the field."

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