The Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC) is an internationally recognized research consortium founded by and based at the Bureau of Economic Geology. The consortium is dedicated to achieving a transformational understanding of subsurface oil and natural gas reservoirs through the deployment of unique micro‑ and nanosensors and materials. In 2017, the AEC is excited to welcome three new members: ExxonMobil, BHP Billiton, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

At the suggestion of its members, the focus of AEC research was honed in 2015 to a handful of practical application “use cases” developed by integrating research results from AEC‑sponsored projects at universities across the globe. The AEC expects that many of these specific applications, currently being tested in laboratory and field environments, will be very close to commercial deployment in 2017. The AEC—and the more than $50 million of research already conducted—provides its members with financial leverage and a cutting‑edge look at ways to further illuminate the subsurface.