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Spinoff story
Gas Processors Turn Oil Drilling Emissions into Fuel for Sale
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Robert Zubrin founded Pioneer Astronautics in the 1990s, and the company devised a multitude of technologies for space exploration. Several developed under SBIR contracts with Johnson Space Center would take apart molecules abundant on Mars and reassemble them into useful resources. Realizing that some of this technology could be adapted to the oil and gas industry, Zubrin spun off Lakewood, Colorado-based Pioneer Energy. The company now markets Flarecatcher and Vaporcatcher systems that turn what used to be waste products and greenhouse gas emissions into fuel.