{"id":16258,"date":"2017-09-06T09:53:57","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T13:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=16258"},"modified":"2026-03-14T12:25:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T16:25:04","slug":"natural-gas-meet-silicon-valley-the-challenge-for-mobile-methane-monitoring-is-now-underway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/06\/natural-gas-meet-silicon-valley-the-challenge-for-mobile-methane-monitoring-is-now-underway\/","title":{"rendered":"Natural gas, meet Silicon Valley. The challenge for mobile methane monitoring is now underway"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/span>\u00a0Ben Ratner<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ramon Alvarez, Ph.D.<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Three years ago, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) united with oil and gas industry leaders including\u00a0Shell<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Statoil<\/a>\u00a0to launch the\u00a0Methane Detectors Challenge<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a collaborative effort to catalyze the development and deployment of stationary, continuous methane monitors. With industry pilot projects now cropping up from Texas to Alberta, continuous methane monitoring on natural gas sites is on a pathway to become one of the core tools in the monitoring toolkit.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a good thing \u2013 24\/7 monitoring is the gold standard for emissions control, opening a new frontier in site-level insight. It will enable real time identification and repair of natural gas waste that pollutes the atmosphere, and the industry\u2019s own reputation.<\/p>\n

Now, another exciting area of innovation is emerging, as entrepreneurs, technologists, and academics pursue mobile approaches to monitor leaks. Whether by plane, helicopter, drone or truck, mobile monitoring offers the promise of surveying highly dispersed industrial facilities \u2013 including smaller and older ones \u2013 quickly and effectively. With an estimated one million well pads in the United States alone, the speed and coverage of monitoring matter.<\/p>\n

\"Helicopter
Environmental Defense Fund takes oil and gas operators and local media for a demonstration of mobile monitoring technology from Apogee Scientific<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mobile methane monitoring for some sites could be a perfect complement to continuous monitoring for others, offering a 1-2 punch solution to comprehensively monitor and address emissions across a highly variable industry, with fit-for-purpose tools.<\/p>\n

A new collaborative challenge to reduce methane<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we are so pleased to support\u00a0Stanford University\u2019s Natural Gas Initiativ<\/a>e by announcing the Stanford\/EDF Mobile Monitoring Challenge (MMC). The MMC is the latest collaborative innovation project from EDF, partnering with\u00a0Dr. Adam Brandt<\/a>\u00a0of Stanford\u2019s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, the principal investigator for MMC and one of the world\u2019s leading scientists studying oil and gas methane emissions.<\/p>\n

Stanford\/EDF Mobile Monitoring Challenge \u2013 Now accepting applications\u00a0\u2192<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The aim of the Mobile Monitoring Challenge is to rigorously test and compare the most promising new mobile technologies and approaches to quickly detect and quantify methane emissions \u2013 with extra interest in commercially scalable options.<\/p>\n

Calling all methane monitoring entrepreneurs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Today begins a 45-day application period for technologists around the world who wish to participate in 15 days of field trials. Stanford and EDF, aided by industry and other expert advisors, will pick the most promising submissions this fall, and Professor Brandt\u2019s team will oversee field testing with controlled releases of methane this winter and spring, culminating in a Stanford paper documenting results for the peer-review process.<\/p>\n

Candidates for the Mobile Monitoring Challenge should have methane monitoring technology that:<\/p>\n