Turning emissions into opportunity: Mines startup advances carbon capture technology
Turning emissions into opportunity: Mines startup advances carbon capture technology
Publish Date: 2026-06-10 18:58:00
Source Domain: www.tsln.com
RAPID CITY, SD (June 9, 2026) — For decades, scientists, engineers and industry leaders have pursued the same elusive goal, finding a carbon capture solution that is both environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
From sprawling pipelines and deep underground storage wells to slow-acting enzymes, promising approaches have emerged, but none have achieved the right balance.
Now, a multidisciplinary team at South Dakota Mines, led by Tanvi Govil, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, may have found a breakthrough in an unexpected place. Deep beneath the Black Hills, microbes thriving in the extreme environment of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) have inspired a technology that could help industries reduce carbon emissions without sacrificing the energy resources the world still depends on, a true win-win for both the economy and the environment.
“Dr. Govil and her team have developed technology that can convert fossil fuels into green energy – this is pretty eye-opening,” said Merle Symes, Mines Entrepreneur-in-Residence and CEO of Carbon EnZero, a company started by Govil to commercialize the technology. “We see this as the first win-win solution that should satisfy both sides of the aisle. It satisfies people who think fossil fuels are the way we should be going, and it satisfies the people who are concerned about climate change. I’ve been involved in a number of startups, but I’ve never been involved in one where all the moons are aligning like this one. Every factor is working toward this is the solution.”
The research team uses microbes, or tiny bugs, collected in SURF and other areas around the country to specially engineer high-performance enzymes capable of operating in harsh industrial environments, including high heat, pressure, acidity and exposure to toxic metals. Using these advanced enzymes as powerful biocatalysts,…
