LongPath Technologies secures Colorado approval for methane-emissions technology

BOULDER — LongPath Technologies Inc., a Boulder-based startup that builds laser systems to monitor methane emissions, has received regulatory approval for use of its system by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.

The approval makes LongPath the first emissions-monitoring technology approved by both CDPHE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the company said in a press release. LongPath also has been approved by New Mexico’s Advanced Leak and Repair Monitoring Program, or ALARM, to be used for carbon accounting in the state.

Methane is a major contributor to climate change. The EPA’s proposed supplemental methane rule standards of performance for oil and gas facilities, and Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission Regulation 7, require regular equipment inspections for methane leaks at new and existing oil and natural-gas production and compression facilities.

LongPath uses quantum sensors to detect even minute quantities of methane in the atmosphere.

“We at LongPath are incredibly proud of the work we have done to prove out the validity and utility of our methane emissions data and work practices. Together, they allow operators to maximize the efficiency of their operations and meet regulatory compliance and protocol standards,” LongPath’s CEO, Ian Dickinson, said in a prepared statement.

LongPath in December announced that it had raised $22 million in Series A funding. The equity round was led by White Deer, a private equity company, joined by energy-services company ProFrac Holding Corp., natural-gas-infrastructure company Williams Cos. Inc., Buff Gold Ventures and existing investors.

Buff Gold Ventures is a venture-capital firm that invests in companies affiliated with the University of Colorado. LongPath’s technology spun out of CU Boulder.

Source: BizWest