IBM Gets $4.5 Million Grant for Methane Level Monitoring System

A grant to the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center will help scientists at the Yorktown facility develop a highly sensitive and reliable system for monitoring methane levels in the air.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey announced the $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy last week.

“Safeguarding our planet for future generations starts with greater awareness of greenhouse gases like methane in our atmosphere,” Lowey said in a prepared statement. “I’m pleased this federal funding will leverage IBM’s technology and analytics to improve detection of potent methane in the air in an effort to improve the environment while helping businesses save money. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue supporting research investments that help our regional economy and improve our environment.”

Methane is a principal component of natural gas found below ground and under the sea floor. If methane is able to leak into the air— often as a result of human activities such as leakage from natural gas and petroleum exploration efforts — it absorbs the sun’s heat, warming the atmosphere. For this reason, it is considered a greenhouse gas, like carbon dioxide, except that methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.

According to Lowey, IBM will work closely with Princeton and Harvard universities to develop An Intelligent Multi-modal Methane Measurement System (AIMS), designed to facilitate energy efficient and low-cost methane sensing – two crucially important breakthroughs in the field. Today’s methane sensors require large amounts of power in order to operate, and standard practices for methane leak detection and repair involve costly yearly, biannual, or quarterly site visits. The AIMS disruptive technology and real-time monitoring solution will have the ability to help prevent significant air pollution and revenue loss.

The system will feed data from a network of ground-based sensors into a collection of advanced analytics algorithms, allowing for rapid response to any emissions on the ground. The technology could prevent revenue loss by helping businesses mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, minimize the loss of valuable products due to methane leaks, and better address maintenance and safety situations.

“IBM’s researchers are excited that this technological breakthrough will be able to help monitor and protect the health of our environment. The AIMS methane sensing system represents an innovative range of new technologies supporting sustainability coming out of IBM Research’s global labs,” said Dario Gil, vice president of science and technology at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center. “We are grateful to Congresswoman Nita Lowey for her support of research efforts and investments here in the Hudson Valley that also benefit communities across the country.”

The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. APRA-E awardees are unique because they are developing entirely new ways to generate, store, and use energy. ARPA-E projects have the potential to radically improve U.S. economic prosperity, national security, and environmental wellbeing.

Lowey (Westchester/Rockland), the Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee, is consistently among the Members of Congress rated most highly by the League of Conservation Voters (LVC).

PHOTO: “IBM Yorktown Heights” by Simon Greig - originally posted to Flickr as IBM Yorktown Heights. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons