BLACKSBURG, Va. – The push to reduce carbon emissions may be coming from beneath our feet.
Virginia Tech and Roanoke Cement Company have teamed up in a new initiative to potentially combat carbon emissions by storing carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground.
The project, called “Project Cardinal,” will examine whether CO2 can be safely injected and stored in geological formations beneath the Roanoke Cement plant in Botetourt County.
Funded by $11.6 million in grants and private investments, the study aims to determine if the local rock layers have the properties necessary for carbon sequestration.
Scientists need one type of rock that can securely hold CO2 and another that will prevent it from rising back to the surface. Geological carbon sequestration, the technical term for this approach, is a method that could complement other efforts to reduce atmospheric CO2, such as using it in food-grade applications or reducing emissions through low-emission vehicles.
A similar test conducted in Craig County in 2023 gave researchers hope that the necessary rock formations exist in the region.
Ryan M. Pollyea, associate professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech and director of the newly established Carbon CoLab, will lead the effort.
“These are the rocks, we found them up here at shallow depths,” Pollyea said. “These are the rocks we’re hoping to find at these deep depths and take samples of them back to the lab to actually understand what’s happening here at 9,000-10,000 ft.”
The project is still in the feasibility stage, meaning it could take a decade or more before CO2 is stored underground if the site is deemed viable. Project leaders emphasize the scale of impact carbon sequestration could have compared to individual actions to reduce emissions.
“The difference between you buying a low emissions vehicle vs a company like Roanoke Cement plant investing in carbon capture and storage technology, they both matter but we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of you at one single site. That’s a pretty big deal,” Pollyea said.
If successful, Project Cardinal could mark a significant step forward in large-scale carbon capture technology in Virginia and across the United States.
Here is the full release from Virginia Tech.