Advanced Energy Consortium and Bureau Director Scott W. Tinker
The Bureau’s Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC) held its annual All-Projects Review meeting recently at the headquarters of member company Repsol in The Woodlands, Texas. This meeting is a yearly opportunity for AEC member organizations to hear about the progress the consortium is making toward achieving the goals of its four remaining research thrusts, or “use cases,” and to provide insights and input into those activities. New member organizations this year include ExxonMobil, the U.S. Department of Energy (through Sandia National Laboratories), and BHP Billiton.
“Our member organizations have allowed the AEC to do fundamental research into materials and concepts in the nanoparticle space that have facilitated their development into practical applications that will revolutionize subsurface characterization,” said Scott W. Tinker, Bureau director. “We have made phenomenal progress and are at the very cusp of launching commercially viable products and methodologies.”
Industry will soon use the AEC’s work to map fracture systems, send autonomous nanosensors downhole to explore the subsurface, and characterize waterfloods through rock formations, among a host of potential applications.
Since the AEC’s inception, the $50 million investment by member organizations into nanoparticle research has led to over 50 patent applications and has involved over 400 researchers, faculty members, students and post-docs. More than 250 journal articles have been generated as a result of this groundbreaking research effort.
For more information about the AEC and how to participate, please contact Jay Kipper.
