New Sensor Catches CO₂ Leaks in Under 3 Minutes

PipeSense's pressure sensing system found leaks within minutes on a Texas CO₂ pipeline, a milestone for carbon capture safety

17 Aug 2026

PipeSense has finished field testing its Dynamic Pressure Analysis leak detection system on a supercritical CO₂ pipeline in South Texas, and the results could change how operators watch high-pressure carbon transport networks. Across 12 miles of pipeline running at 2,000 psi, the system found leaks within 2 to 3 minutes and located them to within roughly 20 feet. For an industry racing to keep up with the monitoring demands of expanding carbon capture infrastructure, that precision counts for a lot.

Supercritical CO₂ has long given conventional monitoring tools trouble. Under extreme pressure, the substance behaves like neither gas nor liquid, and its properties shift fast enough to trip up standard real-time systems. Stuart Mitchell, President and CTO of PipeSense, pointed to that instability as the reason reliability remains a sticking point across the sector. His company built its pressure-based approach specifically to handle those shifts as CCS pipeline networks grow more complex.

The timing lines up. U.S. CO₂ pipelines are projected to expand twentyfold by 2050, fueled by federal and private investment in carbon capture and storage. Building that scale of infrastructure will require detection technology proven in the field, not just in a lab. PipeSense now has documented data from a live, high-pressure pipeline to back its case.

For anyone developing or financing CCS projects, that data carries real weight. Faster, more precise leak detection means lower liability, cheaper remediation, and an easier path through regulatory review. Communities near pipeline corridors gain shorter response windows if something goes wrong, while operators walk away with proof their systems work under real conditions. With field validation now in hand, PipeSense looks positioned to move toward commercial deployment as the country pushes further into lower-carbon energy.