GNO, Inc. Sunday Night Highlight – GNO, Inc. LSU Engineering + Partners Celebrate Historic “Spud Day”

Two years ago, GNO, Inc. and 25 partners, including Louisiana Economic Development (LED) and LSU, were awarded a $50M grant by the federal government, “H₂theFuture,” to develop low-carbon hydrogen technology, one of only 4% of national applicants to win funding.

This week, GNO, Inc., LSU, LED, and multiple partners celebrated a major outcome of the grant, the inauguration – or “spudding ceremony” – for a new, state-of-the-art, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) research well at the LSU Petroleum Engineering Research, Training and Testing Laboratory (PERTT Lab).

The well, which is to be used exclusively for research, and will not inject any CO₂ into the subsurface, will support carbon capture and sequestration safety and monitoring practices.  The project aligns with LSU’s and Louisiana’s goal to be a national leader in applied energy research, focusing on low-carbon technologies like CO₂ capture, hydrogen processes, and sustainable fuels.  The well will feature a large-diameter, carbon-steel outer casing, and corrosion-resistant alloy inner casing to prevent corrosion during CO₂ experiments.  It will have a 5,000-foot vertical section transitioning into a 7,000-foot depth, followed by a horizontal section of 500-1,000 feet, with an endpoint at approximately 7,900 feet.

“The project is part of a broader vision to position LSU as a national leader in demonstration-scale energy research, which will include other aspects of low-carbon technologies, such as CO₂ capture and use, electrification, hydrogen processes, sustainable fuel production, and more,” said Karsten Thompson, LSU Petroleum Engineering professor and lead on the project. “[The new well] can be used for education and training, which is important because injection wells are being assessed across many parts of our state. More broadly, research on sensing, monitoring, and leak detection of CO₂ will support safe and reliable carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) operations in Louisiana and throughout the world.”

Key partners in the project include the federal Economic Development Administration, GNO, Inc., LSU College of Engineering, Louisiana Economic Development, Louisiana Department of Energy & Natural Resources, ExxonMobil, and Halliburton.

You can read more about the announcement here.

You can read more about H₂theFuture here.