Governor Mark Gordon has announced the Wyoming awardees of the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine grants. Chosen from a field of nearly 50 proposals, the University of Wyoming and Laramie-based start-up, High-Plains Biochar submissions were selected by the inaugural grant program. The projects address key, emerging aspects of natural resource management in the two-state region, including water security, wildfire prediction and response, enhanced weather modeling, soil carbon sequestration, and methane emissions monitoring.

The University of Wyoming received a project research award focused on Water Security/ Weather Prediction. High Plains Biochar has been awarded a Translation Grant for work in Soil Carbon Capture and Analytics. In addition, the University of Wyoming is a partner institution on three separate grants.

“When Wyoming joined the Engine, we were focused on addressing specific emerging natural resource issues with particular importance to Wyoming – including the impacts of droughts and wildfires – in innovative ways," Governor Gordon said. “It is a tribute to the good work of the University of Wyoming, High Plains Biochar, and the Co-Wy Engine that they were the first to receive this important funding from the National Science Foundation.”

"Wyoming and Colorado may not always see eye-to-eye, but our economies are related, and I will always support efforts within each of our states that benefit our state’s citizens,” Governor Gordon said.

About The CO-WY Engine

Announced in 2023, the Engine received nearly 50 proposals across two areas: Research & Development, which focuses on catalyzing the commercialization of university-based projects, and Translation/Startups, which supports bringing early-stage commercial solutions to scale. The winning projects address key issues of resilience in our region, including water security, wildfire prediction and response, extreme weather modeling, soil carbon sequestration, and methane emissions mitigation. These projects build on and strengthen critical capabilities in advanced sensing and data science, positioning Colorado and Wyoming at the forefront of innovation nationally. These projects demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships and investments in innovation to drive meaningful impact.