Critical Need
Fossil fuel combustion and deforestation have led to an accumulation of greenhouse gasses and a warming climate. To reverse this trend, governments and corporations are beginning to scale up efforts to capture CO₂ and store it deep underground—a method referred to as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). This is a promising technology, and the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that without it, the cost of meeting emissions targets would increase by 138 percent. However, there remains uncertainty on how best to assess and mitigate the primary risk of this approach: contaminated fluids leaking into drinking water resources.

Technology Vision
Accurately tracking the migration of fluids underground is a notoriously difficult and costly endeavor, but is crucial for detecting leaks from CCS operations. Tensora has developed a novel solution to this challenge by measuring the deformation caused by changes in pressure deep underground. This allows for real-time monitoring of geologic storage operations without the need for high-cost, high-risk wells in the reservoir. Tensora’s breakthrough approach combines cutting-edge analysis with ultra-high-resolution fiber-optic sensing through innovations in Michelson Interferometry—the same revolutionary technology used to detect gravitational waves.

Potential for Impact
Tensora’s pioneering approach could de-risk and accelerate the adoption of geologic storage of CO₂, methane, and wastewater. It could also improve the responsible production of natural resources, like enabling safer groundwater extraction for saline aquifer lithium mining, geothermal power generation, irrigation, or drinking water.

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