The Center for CO2 Storage Modeling, Analytics, and Risk Reduction Technologies (CO2-SMART)-- a partnership with the University of Southern California (USC) focused on the development of practical strategies for underground carbon dioxide storage-- has grown to involve faculty researchers across Penn State, with plans taking shape for a workshop in 2026.
Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, CO2-SMART brings together leadership from the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) and the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC, positioning the team to promote industrial decarbonization at scale.
Their charge is to build a cooperative research program among university partners guided by experts from government, industry, national laboratories and foundations.
First announced in 2024, the interdisciplinary effort now includes Penn State research contributors in EMS, the College of Engineering and Penn State Dickinson Law.
“Carbon research has always been in our research footprint at Penn State,” said Sanjay Srinivasan, director of the Penn State EMS Energy Institute and the John and Willie Leone Family Chair in Energy and Mineral Engineering. “Our rich research legacy in the transformation of carbon, our expansive capacity in geosciences and subsurface engineering and our expertise working on industry-relevant problems make Penn State a natural fit to collaborate with USC.”
Led at USC by Behnam Jafarpour, professor of chemical engineering and material science, and at Penn State by Srinivasan, CO2-SMART targets capturing industrial CO2 emissions before they reach the atmosphere.
Sequestering significant quantities in geologic formations would diminish a major contributor to climate change, researchers say.
Captured at power plants and other industrial facilities, the gas can be injected into naturally sealed underground geologic formations like deep saline aquifers.
These formations are typically more than a kilometer beneath the surface — naturally safeguarding the storage of the gas.
But implementing the concept at commercial scale is layered. It requires addressing a variety of scientific and financial challenges, such as CO2’s complex interactions with underground rock and the economics of field work and operations.
Further, commercial interests need to follow regulatory frameworks and make sure workers are trained for the job.
CO2-SMART is developing the approach’s viability with close relationships among principal stakeholders — including CO2 emitters, injection-site operators, service companies and regulators — as well as research scientists.
The long-term mission is to advance science and technology for storage that’s both safe and cost-effective.
Penn State’s experience in applying scientific discovery for practical uses helped secure its role in the center, Srinivasan said. So did its record in seismic exploration and modeling, applied policy and resource economics.
“We are redeploying subsurface expertise for new purposes in a new era,” Srinivasan said. “As fossil fuels continue to play a vital part amid the transition to more varied energy sources, many scientists agree carbon sequestration is a must to support the shift. ... The carbon has to be disposed — and Penn State is among the institutions most qualified to develop those pathways. It’s a natural extension of work we’ve been doing for decades.”
Innovations necessary for carbon sequestration include mechanisms to characterize injection sites accurately, monitor displacement of injected CO2 and manage reservoir pressure, the researchers noted.
CO2-SMART lined up industry collaborators during its first year and is seeking more, said Anne Menefee, assistant professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State and a contributor to the project.
As an engineer, she explained the effort merges fundamental science with the nuances of policy and law.
“If you ignore technical constraints, then you’re designing policy that won’t be successful or sustainable in the long run,” said Menefee, who is also a faculty affiliate with Penn State’s EMS Energy Institute. Her work focuses on reducing risks and evaluating impacts of carbon-sequestration technologies.
Another need is a clearer legal landscape around liability and regulation, Menefee said. CO2-SMART collaborators including Seth Blumsack, professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, and Hannah Wiseman, professor of law with dual appointments in EMS and Penn State Dickinson Law, bring backgrounds in legal precedent and boundaries of government authority.
They co-direct the Center for Energy Law and Policy at the University.
Blumsack also helps represent Penn State in SPARK 2050, a series of Pennsylvania summits that convene multi-stakeholder discussions on the commonwealth’s policies and direction in energy.
“It’s very important that we be present and have a leadership role in these types of initiatives,” Blumsack said of Penn State. “We’re a land-grant institution. We’re a pan-Pennsylvania institution. In a space where decision-makers are bombarded with messages from specific interests, we can be a neutral convener, provide a broad perspective and demonstrate thought leadership.”
Tieyuan Zhu, associate professor in the Penn State Department of Geosciences, is another CO2-SMART contributor. As a geophysicist, he provides technical expertise in imaging near-surface geological structures and sequestered CO2.
Zhu has been researching CO2 storage for more than a decade, he said. His focus is making sure storage is safe for the long term and with minimal leakage. His emphasis includes efficient monitoring that isn’t cost-prohibitive for industry.
“Through CO2-SMART, we can establish open dialogue with industry partners to support immersive research that creates practical solutions and expands collaboration,” Zhu said.
By late 2025, CO2-SMART counted participating organizations that span the energy and utility sectors and governmental agencies, with several projects planned. Organizers are arranging a CO2-SMART workshop for summer 2026 at Penn State.
“From a Penn State and an Energy Institute perspective, it makes perfect sense for us to do this work,” Srinivasan said. “The institute routinely represents expertise from across the college. Carbon sequestration calls on us for an all-hands push.”
Visit the Center for CO2 Storage Modeling, Analytics, and Risk Reduction Technologies webpage for more information.
(Reprinted from Penn State News.)
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