Climate Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

The SputterPig™ Pipeline Retrofit Initiative focuses on making existing pipelines usable for a low-carbon future. Our team has developed a robotic system that travels inside steel pipelines and applies a thin multilayer Al/Al2O3 coating that protects the pipe from corrosion and hydrogen damage while also reducing friction.
This approach allows aging pipelines to safely transport CO₂ and hydrogen without needing full replacement, which is often expensive, slow, and disruptive. By retrofitting infrastructure that already exists, the initiative removes a major bottleneck to scaling carbon capture, storage, and hydrogen blending.
The project is currently active and in pilot stages, with ongoing testing, prototype deployments, and collaboration with pipeline operators and service partners. Our goal is to lower the cost and risk of decarbonization by extending the life and usefulness of critical energy infrastructure at scale.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

['Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)', 'Removes/stores GHGs (e.g., projects that capture, sequester, or otherwise enhance the "sinks" that accumulate and store GHGs)']

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

We aim to work closely with midstream pipeline operators and customer-facing utilities to increase public understanding and acceptance of hydrogen blending. The development of curriculum modules on hydrogen technology, pipeline infrastructure, and sustainable energy solutions for K-12 and college-level education will also ensure the integration of future generations within the hydrogen economy that Arculus aims to promote. 
Implementing coating technology on a large scale will stimulate job growth across engineering, manufacturing, and maintenance sectors, especially in regions with extensive pipeline networks, like Louisiana. The novelty of hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines also creates the need for the development of newly educated pipeline workers. Arculus aims to contribute to a globally competitive STEM workforce by supporting STEM education at all levels.
Lower hydrogen transport costs will encourage local industries to adopt hydrogen as a clean energy source, supporting economic development in communities that host hydrogen infrastructure.
The cost-effective retrofitting solution lowers hydrogen transportation costs, making clean hydrogen energy more affordable and accessible to communities, and advancing energy equity goals.
By hydrogen-proofing and rehabilitating gas pipelines, we will unlock a transition to a low-carbon and low-pollutant gas fuel mix that disproportionately benefits low-income/disadvantaged communities (LIDAC).