For over 14 years, Kinder Morgan has been a vital participant in the global effort to unravel the mysteries of the universe through its involvement in the DarkSide Project.
Led by Princeton University’s Professor of Physics, Cristiano Galbiati, and engaging 400 scientists worldwide, the DarkSide Project focuses on extracting exceptionally pure argon from a Kinder Morgan site in Colorado. This high-purity argon is anticipated to offer crucial insights into dark matter, which constitutes a substantial portion of the universe’s matter.
At the core of this endeavour lies Kinder Morgan’s Doe Canyon Deep unit in Southwest Colorado. While primarily dedicated to CO2 extraction, Doe Canyon Deep yields low-radioactivity argon, a key resource for the DarkSide Project.
In December 2023, the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel identified the DarkSide Project and the extraction of argon from Doe Canyon Deep as top priorities for the U.S. DOE’s Office of Science and the U.S. National Science Foundation over the next decade.
This year, with support from a grant from the National Science Foundation, Princeton University and the University of Houston will commence the installation and commissioning of an industrial-scale structure housing a processing plant constructed in Italy by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. Concurrently, Kinder Morgan has completed construction on a meter skid and pipeline to connect the argon extraction plant to Doe Canyon Deep, with the plant expected to be operational by late 2024.
Once operational, the extracted argon will be transported to Italy for processing and integration into the DarkSide 20k particle detector. This detector is a critical tool in analysing the characteristics of dark matter and is scheduled to commence operations in 2025.
Casey Zweig, Kinder Morgan’s CO2 director of operations engineering, expressed, “As the DarkSide Project progresses, it embodies the spirit of collaboration, innovation, and discovery. Kinder Morgan’s involvement underscores the significance of public-private partnerships in advancing scientific frontiers. Plus, this kind of work is just cool!”
With Kinder Morgan’s support, the DarkSide Project heralds a new era of exploration, leveraging resources and expertise to comprehend the fundamental mysteries of the universe.
For more information visit: www.kindermorgan.com
