research and projects

Carbon Capture, Utilization & Sequestration

  • wyoming CarbonSAFE

    Wyoming CarbonSAFE

    At Dry Fork Station

    The Wyoming CarbonSAFE Project, which stands for Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise, is one of thirteen original carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project sites in the U.S. funded by the DOE with the ultimate goal of ensuring carbon storage complexes will be ready for integrated CCUS system deployment. With the advancement of each stage and varying success, fewer sites continued to the subsequent stages. The Wyoming CarbonSAFE project in the Powder River Basin near Gillette, Wyoming is currently in Phase III of the multi-phase project. Learn about each of the varying stages of the project and details of the current undertakings. 

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  • echo springs carbonSAFE

    Williams Echo Springs CarbonSAFE


    Williams Echo Springs CarbonSAFE project aims to conduct a storage complex feasibility study to develop a saline carbon dioxide (CO2) storage hub for current and future industries in the Echo Springs area of south-central Wyoming. To be conducted in collaboration with midstream natural gas company Williams, the two-year study plans to permit and drill a deep stratigraphic test well and interpret the resulting data, models and documents for further site development.

    Expected outcomes from the study include confirming which of the six stacked formations at Echo Springs can safely, securely and economically store at least 50 million metric tons of CO2 indefinitely. The project also seeks to leverage a viable CO2 source and the existing pipeline transportation infrastructure in the region to prove its imminent viability.

  • HERO CarbonSAFE

    HERO Basalt CarbonSAFE


    The HERO Basalt CarbonSAFE plans to accelerate the scale-up and deployment of commercial CO2 storage in basaltic rocks at a storage complex near Hermiston, Oregon. Basalt formations represent an attractive alternative for CO2 storage due to their potential for rapid mineralization, widespread geographic distribution, and potentially large storage capacity.

    The two-year feasibility study will include drilling a test well for the collection of data from these formations; obtaining and analyzing geologic samples; using the results of the analyses to create geologic computer models in which to test storage scenarios; and assessing societal and environmental impacts of the carbon storage at the site. The project also will assess capturing CO2 from Calpine’s Hermiston Power Project, one of the region’s cleanest and most efficient natural-gas power stations utilizing Wyoming-sourced natural gas.

  • Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub

    Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub (CarbonSAFE)


    The project, which is led by researchers in SER’s Center for Economic Geology Research along with Frontier, the owner and operator of the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub, will develop a permanent carbon management solution for the region’s critical hydrocarbon industries and support the sequestration of carbon from direct air capture.The project will focus on the detailed site characterization, planning and permitting stages of project development under Phase III of the CarbonSAFE program.

    Frontier has completed extensive project development to advance the viability of the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub and submitted three applications for Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI wells to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality that were approved -- marking the first UIC Class VI permits issued in the state of Wyoming.

  • Class VI Database

    Class VI Site Characterization Database


    The Wyoming Class VI Site Characterization Database intends to accelerate carbon management storage hub development in Wyoming by providing and verifying the geotechnical data needed for Class VI permit applications in the Greater Green River Basin. The project will maintain a database providing geotechnical information, compiled and verified from established, public geologic databases/entities. The database will also include a record of key social considerations and community benefits that developers may consider when preparing Class VI well permit applications to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.

    The proposed database will provide geotechnical information that has been compiled and verified from established, public geologic databases and entities. It also will include a record of key social considerations and community benefits that developers should consider when preparing Class VI well permit applications to DEQ.

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Critical Materials & Rare Earth Elements

  • CORE-CM PRB

    Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative for U.S. Basins - Powder River Basin (PRB)

    Phase I

    The primary objectives of the project are to establish and initiate strategic plans that address all aspects of carbon ore, rare earth element, and critical mineral (CORE-CM) resource development and to promote economic growth and workforce development centered around the nation’s largest coal mines in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana.

    The project will bring together a committed team of project partners and stakeholders from across the Powder River Basin. The project aims to maximize development potential of carbon ore, rare earth element, and critical mineral resources while leveraging the highly trained workforce, existing coal technologies, energy infrastructure, and wide public acceptance of energy technology in the basin.

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  • GGRB CORE-CM

    Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative for U.S. Basins - Greater Green River Basin (GGRB)

    Phase I

    U.S. coals and associated by-products and waste streams can be used as feedstocks for domestic production of rare earth elements (REE) and CM to enhance our national and economic security..

    The project will address the upstream and midstream critical minerals (CM) supply chain and downstream manufacturing of high-value, nonfuel, carbon-based products (CBP), to accelerate the realization of full potential for carbon ores and critical minerals within the Greater Green River Basin. The project further seeks to catalyze regional economic growth and job creation by realizing the full potential value of natural resources, such as coal, across basins throughout the U.S.

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  • pilot plant ree

    Rare Earth Element TCF Project

    Pilot Plant

    An NETL collaboration with the School of Energy Resources to develop technologies and methods for extracting rare earth elements (REEs) from coal ash funded from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) is working toward a pilot-scale production facility.

    Located at the Wyoming Innovation Center near Gillette, Wyo., the pilot plant will scale up the extraction technologies previously developed in the laboratory by NETL, and will work to demonstrate the economically viable production of REEs from coal-related feedstocks. The project has the potential to launch a new industry in extracting critical REE materials from the ash of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin coals.


oil and gas

Oil and Gas

  • mowry shale

    Mowry Shale Project

    UW Interdisciplinary Research

    The Mowry Shale is an important petroleum source rock in the Rocky Mountains. Known as a self-contained petroleum system, it’s a primary hydrocarbon source for Cretaceous petroleum reservoirs in the Powder River Basin and also a reservoir in itself. However, the Mowry Petroleum System has only rarely been a direct focus of unconventional oil and gas exploration and production.

    SER has assembled a multidisciplinary team from the University of Wyoming dedicated to Mowry research, industry collaboration, and training students. With a mission focused on driving energy-related economic development within the state, SER aims to diminish uncertainties and enhance the productivity of the Mowry Petroleum System to bolster statewide production.