Each year, an estimated 13 million metric tons of methane leaks from the oil and gas industry in the United States. This is 60% more than current US Environmental Protection estimates, and is enough to supply 10 million households.
Leaks equal $2 Billion in lost product for the oil and gas industry, and industry executives name accurate leak detection a top priority.
Fundamentally, methane leaks are hard to fix because they are hard to detect. One reason for this is something called the OGI interpretation problem. Aquanta Vision, a Colorado startup and one of the CO-WY Engine’s most recent investments, is tackling this problem head on.
If you have never seen an Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) camera, they look a lot like the hand-held camcorders popular in the 1990s; square and boxy with an eye piece jutting up at an angle. OGI cameras operate in infrared to detect gas emissions and are extensively used in the oil and gas industry to find fugitive gas leaks invisible to the human eye. Appearing like plumes of smoke on the camera screen, a leak is identified by a trained inspector using software embedded in the camera. However, this method has limitations.
“The problem is that more that 60% of fugitive leaks are not detected at OGI inspections each year.” says Babur Ozden, founder of Aquanta Vision. “This is because the software in the cameras is insufficient in auto-interpreting the scene in the camera field of view.”
Babur Ozden and Marcus Martinez
The Winding Road to Innovation
In 2020, Marcus Martinez, a mechanical engineering master’s student at Colorado State University and a graduate researcher at CSU’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) took on the OGI interpretation problem as part of his thesis research. Martinez focused on finding a way to improve the tools that the industry already used. Something fast and easy to implement. And since all OGI cameras suffer from this problem, he would have to find a solution that would apply to all cameras already in use.
Martinez’s goal was to develop a universal physics-based algorithm to identify where in the camera’s field of view a leak is present while minimizing false-positives. He was ultimately able to design software that could analyze an OGI video stream, pixel by pixel, and determine from the physical characteristics if a gas leak was present. This software, when applied to existing OGI cameras, automates detection and offers a 65% increase in detection accuracy.
Aquanta Vision and New Standards for Fugitive Methane Detection
Aquanta Vision was established in 2023 by entrepreneur Babur Ozden, who learned about Martinez’s research through Chevron Studio, a program that offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop lower-carbon technologies from national labs and universities. Ozden recognizes the research’s potential immediately. “Methane detection in the industrial world is still a hardware game, and most of the software runs embedded in this hardware,” he says. “Here is one software application that can make all of this hardware far more effective.”
Ozden reached out to Martinez, “I saw this genius young man. Smart. Very articulate,” he recounts. “I told Marcus I was taking his thesis and wanted to commercialize it. He was two years out of school and making a good living as an engineer in another field. It took me six or seven months to convince him to quit his job.”
To date, Aquanta Vision’s methane-detection software NETxTEN has been field tested on 5000+ OGI videos of real-world inspections provided by oil and gas companies. NETxTEN is an add-on app that automates fugitive leak detection and increases detection speed and accuracy. “We are engaging with industry leaders weekly to demonstrate the app’s capabilities,” says Martinez, “The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with operators recognizing its potential to revolutionize methane leak detection and significantly reduce emissions.”
As of March, Aquanta Vision is two months away from version 1 of its commercial release of the NETxTEN app, has received its first purchase order, and has a growing pipeline of pilot users. Aquanta Vision has received considerable interest from partners, investors and potential customers. The startup is in NREL Operated Chevron Studie, Shell GameChanger and Roes Rock Bridge energy industry tech accelerators. Early investors are Chevron Technology Ventures, Ecosphere Ventures, and Odessey Energy Advisors.
The CO-WY Engine, Regional Growth, and Global Impact
The CO-WY Engine Translation Grant will support the maturation and commercialization of NETxTEN.
With CO-WY Engine support, Aquanta Vision plans to grow its engineering team in Colorado and to provide internships and field-work opportunities to graduate students at universities in Colorado and Wyoming. Ozden is hopeful that hiring with increase substantially in the coming years as NETxTEN is adopted across the oil and gas Industry. Additional economic benefits to the region will be generated through the company’s use of consultants and consumables as business expands.
The benefits of NETxTEN are potentially global. An industry-wide adoption of the technology could significantly reduce fugitive methane emissions overall leading to improvements in safety and human health while reducing waste and environmental harm.
For more information about Aquanta Vision, visit their LinkedIn page.
