Carbon Colab
Curbing
Together, we can accelerate science-based solutions to mitigate carbon emissions.
Human activity has increased the atmosphere’s CO2 levels by 50 percent in the past 200 years, according to NASA. With the majority of emissions coming from the energy sector and emissions-intensive industries, we are in a unique position to make a huge impact on the health of our planet.
We have the technology, physical space, and federal funding needed to jump into action. Carbon capture and storage offers sustainable results, and R&D support has increased with the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
What we need now is a concerted effort to scale industrial decarbonization.
Laying the
By permanently storing carbon thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface in geologic formations, we can replicate a natural process that has regulated the global carbon cycle for billions of years.
Keeping carbon out of the atmosphere
Today’s technologies can reliably capture carbon dioxide produced by stationary sources of carbon emissions, such as big factories and power plants. While some of this CO2 can be utilized, or reused, for other purposes, there’s a surplus that must be managed.
Geologic carbon sequestration, or carbon storage, is the process of trapping carbon deep underground inside rock formations. Sedimentary basins have proven ideal for storing carbon, generating work in the Gulf of Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, all of which have a long history in oil and gas.
Following Mother Nature’s lead
Most of the world’s carbon is already stored in rocks and sediments. Because the Earth is a closed system, a finite amount of carbon is constantly moving within the global carbon cycle between the atmosphere and Earth — where it resides in geologic formations, in the ocean, or inside living organisms.
Natural CO2 sinks like the ocean and forests absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they produce. But humans — by burning fossil fuels — are releasing more carbon into the atmosphere than they are absorbing, making us a significant carbon source.
Trapping carbon in underground formations addresses this imbalance.
Read: Underground carbon storage project takes root
Virginia Tech is serving as the technical lead of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded project that aims to store more than 1.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and reduce the risk and costs of future projects.
6 min read
Scaling Efforts to
To meet demand for reducing carbon emissions, the world must radically expand its approach to carbon sequestration.
Virginia Tech is accepting this challenge by exploring previously untapped geological sites that can increase storage capacity, generate economic growth, and improve sustainability.
Matching source and sink
Although sedimentary basins are reliable formations for large-scale carbon storage, their location — mostly in the central U.S. — can be prohibitive for some companies. Transporting carbon over long distances can be expensive and can create more of the emissions we’re trying to curb.
Virginia Tech is keeping carbon storage close to the source by modeling novel geologic environments, like carbonate rocks in Florida, basalt in the Pacific Northwest, and complex geological structures in the Appalachians. This site-by-site process to store large quantities of industrial CO2 requires comprehensive action plans.
Understanding the full landscape
Complex problems like decarbonization demand system-level thinking. Virginia Tech’s 360-degree approach takes technology from bench to scale, while also evaluating economic benefits to inform policy, engaging the community, and partnering with industry and government.
We’re integrating research into our talent development, so today’s expertise can be retrained away from carbon-intensive industry and tomorrow’s leaders are getting a jump start on solving industry challenges.
Momentum for
While other climate solutions are decades out in the future, this is something we can do right now. Geologic carbon sequestration isn’t a silver bullet, but it can move the needle on carbon management in a positive way. With funding incentives at the ready, we can unlock geologic frontiers that expand storage capacity and improve sustainability.
- Targeted area: Environment
Impact: Carbon capture, utilization, and storage keeps CO2 out of the atmosphere. - Targeted area: Carbon research
Impact: By proving and deploying science-based solutions - Targeted area: Workforce
Impact: By training students to be ready ready with next-gen technical skills for tackling challenges today and well into the future. - Targeted area: Corporate sustainability goals — SDG and ESG
Impact: By helping companies pave the path to net zero emissions through more sustainable operations, positive local impact, and responsible sourcing - Targeted area: Economy
Impact: By creating new jobs and repurposing skills already in play in industries like coal, oil, and gass
Leading
All scientists are good at identifying problems. Ryan Pollyea has built his career on being part of the solution.
Industry mindset meets academia
Ryan Pollyea brings his expertise to Virginia Tech’s College of Science from a career spanning environmental and geotechnical consulting, government oversight, and academics. His private-sector mindset helps him communicate with industry partners and push projects forward through the university framework.
Over the past decade, Pollyea has seen momentum building for decarbonization efforts. With his extensive experience in modeling and simulation, he’s motivated to take his approach from the bench into the field.
Proving and deploying solution-based research
Pollyea’s research explores the intersecting dynamics of geofluids and energy resources, including geologic CO2 sequestration, hydrothermal fluid systems, and fluid-triggered earthquakes. In his Computational Geofluids Lab, he and his group are using numerical simulations to unlock new terrains for geologic carbon sequestration and mineralization. They are currently investigating physical and chemical processes during CO2 sequestration in carbonate and flood basalt reservoirs. Research in Pollyea’s lab has been funded by the Department of Energy, Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
Depth of
Here, carbon solutions won’t be created in silos. To solve big problems, we mobilize our experts at the intersections of diverse disciplines, from engineering to economics to geosciences.
Core strengths on tap at Virginia Tech
Faculty in the Department of Geosciences, in the College of Science, are internationally recognized for research in carbon management, energy and environment, ore deposits, natural hazards, and more. The department is a global leader in discovering and sharing knowledge of Earth and planetary processes from nano to planetary scales using a wide range of computational, experimental, and field-based research methods.
The Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering, in the College of Engineering, is one of the largest minerals-related programs in North America, enjoying a strong international reputation for its academic, research, and public service programs. The program focuses on advanced technologies, including robotics, autonomous vehicles, and data analytics, to make mining more efficient, improving extraction, analysis, transportation, and processing. The department is a national leader in process technology—including rare earths—toward separation efficiency, recapture, product quality, and environmental performance.
Housed at Virginia Tech, the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research serves as an interdisciplinary study, research, information, and resource facility for the commonwealth. The center has participated in multiple carbon management projects and recently completed phase 3 of a $15 million project with the Department of Energy to inject 20,000 tons of carbon in unconventional reservoirs.
Along with research groups in mechanical engineering and chemistry, the Department of Chemical Engineering is accelerating the discovery of new materials and processes for capturing carbon dioxide. Their work targets carbon capture from point sources such as flue gas from power plants. Senior capstone projects with industry provide mutual benefit — addressing salient carbon challenges of today while training solution-focused talent for tomorrow.
Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Assistant Professor
Sustainable Biomaterials
Professor and Department Head
Geosciences
Associate Professor, VCCER Deputy Director
Mining and Minerals Engineering
Assistant Professor
Mining and Minerals Engineering
Associate Professor
Chemical Engineering
Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Assistant Professor
Sustainable Biomaterials
Professor and Department Head
Geosciences
Associate Professor, VCCER Deputy Director
Mining and Minerals Engineering
Assistant Professor
Mining and Minerals Engineering
Associate Professor
Chemical Engineering
Why
Our university continuously evolves to fulfill tomorrow’s demand.
Virginia Tech is a comprehensive, Tier 1 land-grant research institution with campuses in Blacksburg, Roanoke, and Northern Virginia. With globally recognized capabilities, we’re developing next-generation talent and providing expert solutions — proven, and at scale.
Synergy in action
At Virginia Tech, we are collaborating both within and outside our university, enabling productive relationships with industry, academia, and government. The next generation of talent is already putting their skills to work, thanks to our emphasis on experiential learning and industry-inspired projects.
Ready-made partners for federal co-capture
Virginia Tech has a research portfolio of more than $420 million annually, placing it among the top 6 percent of universities in the nation. Our diverse portfolio includes research with virtually every federal agency, robust corporate partnerships, and strengths in fields critical to national competitiveness. And our close proximity to Washington, D.C., maximizes our ability to co-capture federal funding.
Committed to building strong communities
As one of six senior military colleges, our motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) reflects a value-centered culture. Virginia Tech has an extensive reach across the commonwealth with a presence in virtually every county. Our land-grant mission puts strong emphasis on community outreach and stakeholder engagement.
The university is known for growing exceptional industry-ready talent with a strong work ethic, leading to a consistently high rank among top universities by recruiters. With a commitment to serving students of underrepresented and underserved backgrounds, Virginia Tech offers a powerful platform for creating future talent.
Building a Hub
We’re building the Carbon CoLab Innovation Hub to accomplish more of the game-changing science we’re already producing in carbon sequestration.
Carbon Colab: An industry-guided mission
True to its name, Carbon CoLab is a collaborative laboratory advancing carbon management technology in the industrial sector. Here, we’re teaming with industry to simulate, test, deploy, and prove out technologies; realize economic and community benefits; and inform policy around decarbonization.
As part of this innovation hub, faculty and students are tackling real-world challenges across disciplines while creating seamless connections with our partners. Ryan Pollyea, as founding director, provides overall leadership while supporting research in three core areas: data intelligence, immersive simulations, and carbon management.
Carbon CoLab’s mission is to create an emission-free world by enabling next-gen technologies to decarbonize industrial processes.
Breaking
We’re not just finding short-term solutions — we’re building the logic behind carbon management of the future.
Educating top-tier talent
Carbon CoLab is building sustainable research growth to benefit our partners as well as our students through hands-on, project-based learning. Undergraduates are getting a jump-start on their careers by developing applied skills on equipment and software used in industry. And graduate students have the time and space to dig deeper into cutting-edge research topics — like trapping carbon in mine waste through ex-situ carbon mineralization.
Internships and co-ops further expedite a student’s transition from college to industry, enabling critical work in context and valuable touchpoints with employers. Plus, industry partners can help shape executive education and develop customized curricula that meets their needs.
Accelerating new technologies
Our hub provides partners with a simulation, test, and demonstration environment for proof of concept. Working together, we can catalyze innovative concepts into collaborative grants from federal agencies by generating the necessary data to prove viability.
Within the hub, a connected network of faculty innovators will represent specific areas such as
- carbon storage, materials discovery and testing, and sustainable processes
- sensor fusion, real-time data processing, and predictive analytics
- data visualization, modeling, and user experience
Supporting
By investing in Carbon CoLab, our partners unlock immediate benefits in research and talent while building capacity for long-term impact.
- Targeted area: Talent pipeline
Mechanism: Current-use and endowed scholarships; tuition assistance
Impact: Support long-term research and recruitment - Targeted area: Teaching and research
Mechanism: Endowed faculty fellowship
Impact: Strengthen capacity to support high-impact research and promote cross-disciplinary teaching - Targeted area: Research and development
Mechanism: Collaboration on federal funding opportunities
Impact: Partner with a top-ranked university in close proximity to the D.C. area to pursue federal funding - Targeted area: Brand awareness
Mechanism: Industry conferences, internships, research outcomes, and digital media
Impact: Create global visibility for collective outcomes
Digging Down to
Carbon CoLab research is unlocking new geologic frontiers for carbon storage in diverse locations across the nation.
Storing carbon where industry needs it
We’re not shying away from the hard facts of geographical complexity. We’re testing and demonstrating new technologies to face them head on. By exploring new geology beyond sedimentary rock formations, we’re enabling a broader network of carbon capture storage across the United States — a network that better suits industry needs and unlocks economic opportunities for high impact. To support that network, we’re engaging communities along the way, so we can accelerate the adoption and scale of innovative methods.
Project
We’re spearheading high-impact projects by working with industry and government partners to transform investments into large federal awards.
Taking our expertise on the road
Virginia Tech is working with Titan America to establish a critical CO2 storage facility in Southern Florida for the company’s Pennsuco cement plant. Project ACCESS aims to store more than 1.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and reduce the risk and costs of future projects.
With Virginia Tech serving as the technical lead, the project is a Phase 2 feasibility study for CarbonSAFE, an initiative from the Department of Energy to characterize potential 50+ million metric ton storage complex. Project ACCESS will evaluate the potential for storage at depths exceeding 8,000 feet below the Earth’s surface.
If Project ACCESS develops, it could eliminate the annual carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 370,000 passenger vehicles.
A Vision
Well-grounded carbon solutions can strengthen more than just our planet.
Locking in future benefits
We know that storing carbon underground in the right locations can make our planet healthier. But carbon sequestration also positively impacts economic development of our communities.
Virginia Tech’s comprehensive approach to carbon management can unlock economic development for Southwest Virginia and other geologic locations around the country and other geologic locations around the world. Establishing sustainable practices can open up a region’s economy by attracting companies looking for a competitive edge. Carbon storage also creates high-value jobs, while potentially using existing infrastructure and workforce skills to cultivate lower-carbon innovation.
You’re changing the world. So are we. Let’s do it together.
Virginia Tech is continually evolving to meet the needs of our partners and communities. In industrial decarbonization, we see an opportunity to create meaningful impact for global health and economic development — so we’re jump-starting bold solutions.
We are connecting with friends of the university and industry partners to help us shape, build, and define Carbon CoLab’s future. By leveraging the significant assets and collaborations of a Tier 1 university, you can gain an edge toward a more sustainable future.
Thank you for considering partnership in this incredible work.
Ryan Pollyea
Associate Professor Department of Geosciences
rpollyea@vt.edu
Office of Innovation & Partnerships
LINK Center for Advancing Partnerships
link@vt.edu