About Us

SUETRI-A is a university-industry consortium focused on education and cross-cutting research to enable the energy transition. The SUETRI-A mission is twofold. First, the next generation of energy science engineers are educated and trained. They are a primary mode of knowledge transfer. Second, we conduct a spectrum of research relevant to the transition to net-zero energy technologies with a particular focus on subsurface engineering. We believe that the subsurface will play a significant role in our transition to net-zero emissions technologies by providing pore space for storage of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and/or compressed air. Likewise, subsurface energy resources such as natural gas will continue to be critical to the energy system and the impact of such resources will decrease over time with improved production practices, minimization of leaks, and capture & storage of resulting carbon dioxide. Our spectrum of research includes the reservoir engineering of storage formations (CO2 & H2), chemical and mechanical durability of formation seals, mechanical response of geological formations undergoing injection, and utilization of carbon dioxide in the upstream value chain including enhanced recovery. A suite of imaging, simulation, and machine learning approaches are employed. Our research has impact across near-, mid-, and long-term time frames.

Principal Investigator and Key Technical Staff

Tony Kovscek is a Professor of Energy Science and Engineering, senior fellow with the Precourt Institute for Energy, and has directed SUETRI-A since 1996.

Our lab is supported by several research staff members:

Click here to see the students and staff also affiliated with SUETRI-A.

Research

Subsurface engineering motivates the SUETRI-A core areas of expertise including laboratory-scale in-situ visualization of complex transport processes and deformation of porous media; convective heat transfer; the interplay of chemistry, phase behavior, reaction, mechanics, and transport processes across length scales. We have adopted a pore to core to field to basin approach.

Current research area within SUETRI-A include:

Expertise

Our lab has expertise in the following topics and laboratory techniques:

Support

SUETRI-A is funded through university and industry consortium. Industry partners include both domestic and international oil companies. Membership in the SUETRI-A Subsurface Enginnering for Sustainable Energy is open to everyone. The membership fee is $44,000 per year, renewed annually, although we are interested in multiple-year, long-term interactions. The membership fee is used primarily to support graduate students post-doctoral fellows, and computer facilities.These companies take an active part in the yearly advisory committee meeting, usually held in April, and have advanced access to reports and publications.

Affiliates may send 1-2 representatives to Stanford University to carry out collaborative research NTE 1 year.

Current sponsors:

OMV

For information on joining the consortium, please contact Prof. Kovscek. Please read the Stanford University Policies Affecting Industrial Affiliates Program Memberships here.

Release of Computer Code

SUETRI-A will from time to time use and develop open-source software, and it is the intention of SUETRI-A that any software will be released under an open source model, if SUETRI-A is legally able to do so.