Tallgrass Donates $250,000 to Advance Research at UW School of Energy Resources

A $250,000 charitable gift from Tallgrass will be doubled by state of Wyoming matching funds and used to create a CO₂ Storage Excellence Fund at the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER).

The excellence fund will provide the essential support to advance existing efforts in carbon capture, utilization and storage from research and demonstration to commercialization, thus benefiting the future Wyoming economy.

“We’re proud to expand our partnership with the University of Wyoming through this gift and to support the advancement of a developing field that will create new opportunities for future generations in Wyoming,” notes Kyle Quackenbush, Tallgrass’ segment president over CO₂. “It’s essential that we partner with the vital industries that support the communities where we operate. These partnerships help us continue to deliver innovative solutions that advance decarbonized energy.

“The University of Wyoming has been pursuing these initiatives for over a decade, and we are proud to support them with our gift to this newly established fund,” he adds.

Tallgrass’ contribution will jump-start the program, with a portion of the funds immediately available and the rest placed in an endowment to provide sustainable support for future students.

“We are incredibly grateful to Tallgrass for this gift and to the Wyoming Legislature for providing matching funds,” says SER Executive Director Holly Krutka.

“This fund will allow SER the flexibility we need to react quickly, seize new opportunities and address challenges,” says Scott Quillinan, SER senior director of research. “It is time to make carbon capture, utilization and storage a large-scale commercial reality in Wyoming, and we’re grateful for our commercial partners like Tallgrass for their support and engagement.”

SER continues to focus on driving excellence in science, technology, outreach and policy to position Wyoming and its industries for success in carbon storage. SER supports faculty, staff and students in cutting-edge research and leads high-profile applied projects -- including multimillion-dollar U.S. Department of Energy-funded Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) projects.

“Momentum has grown for carbon capture, utilization and storage technology to be deployed, and we are at the early stages of that occurring in Wyoming,” Krutka says. “SER, UW, our collaborators across Wyoming and our industry partners -- like Tallgrass -- are making tremendous progress in advancing projects across our state for the benefit of Wyoming and our industries.”

Tallgrass is an industry leader with a commitment to achieving decarbonized energy solutions. It has partnered directly with SER on multiple projects to leverage existing infrastructure and expertise in Wyoming in pursuit of commercial-scale carbon capture deployment.

The CO₂ Storage Excellence Fund will support continued multidisciplinary efforts in SER’s Center for Economic Geology Research. It also can support other centers of excellence focused on policy and outreach that help create the environment to deploy carbon capture, utilization and storage.

“Researchers at SER have been laying the groundwork for carbon capture, utilization and storage in Wyoming for well over a decade. Tallgrass has played an important role through previous partnerships and collaborative research endeavors,” Quillinan says. “Now, we are working to expand our focus to encompass education, outreach and community engagement to support the implementation of a carbon capture, utilization and storage industry in the state.”

“Engaging companies in opportunities across the University of Wyoming, partnering with them on various projects and researching areas of importance to them are especially meaningful,” says Angela Ver Ploeg, UW Foundation director of corporate engagement. “Tallgrass has been a dedicated partner with the School of Energy Resources in the past, and we are especially excited to have Tallgrass make an extraordinary commitment to the CO₂ Storage Excellence Fund.”

Acknowledgment of Tallgrass’ gift will be recognized in UW’s Energy Innovation Center student study lounge, located on the first floor. Formal recognition of the gift will be celebrated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the space Thursday, June 6.

To learn more or to contribute to the CO₂ Storage Excellence Fund, email Ver Ploeg at angela.verploeg@uwyo.edu.

About Tallgrass

Tallgrass is a leading energy infrastructure company focused on safely, reliably and sustainably delivering the energy and services that fuel homes and businesses and enable quality of life. Tallgrass is committed to being at the forefront of efforts to decarbonize our world.

To learn more, visit Tallgrass.com. For media inquiries, call Rachel Carmichael at (720) 814-2851 or email media.relations@tallgrass.com.