ECO-AI Hackathon: Enabling Carbon Capture and Storage using AI
In March 2025, we brought together PhD students and PDRAs from across the UK for three days of innovation and collaboration on AI for Net Zero solutions. Participants tackled unique challenges in carbon capture and storage, while also exploring their economic and policy implications. The event showcased creative, cross-disciplinary thinking and highlighted the transformative potential of AI in addressing climate change.
Event Details
Dates: Wednesday 26 March – Friday 28 March 2025
Location: Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
Venue: Scott Suite, Edinburgh Business School
Who Attended
The hackathon was attended by PhD students and early career researchers interested in AI applications in environmental sciences, particularly those focusing on CCS technologies. It was an excellent opportunity for anyone eager to contribute to the global effort in reducing carbon emissions through innovative AI-driven solutions.
Event Overview
This two-part event took place in March 2025, starting with the ECO-AI project workshop (24–25 March), where participants attended presentations and panel discussions on applying AI to CO₂ capture and storage. This was followed by the Hackathon (26–28 March), where teams worked intensively on one of three challenge tracks:
- CO₂ Storage (poreflow challenge): Fast prediction of two phase flow in porous media using deep learning
- CO₂ Capture (amineprop challenge): Predicting properties of amine molecules for carbon capture using AI
- CCS policy and economics (policyalign challenge): LLM-Driven analysis of climate policies and SDG alignment
Starter codes and challenges outline
- github repository for all challenges (URL, large files removed)
- poreflow challenge on Kaggle (starter notebook; dataset)
- amineprop challenge on Kaggle (starter notebook; dataset)
- policyalign challenge on Kaggle (starter notebook; description &dataset)
Teams & presentations
DeepPore Dynamics (CO2 Storage)
- Omar AlSuqri, Heriot-Watt University
- Shamim Karimi Pashaki, Heriot-Watt University
- Oluwaseun Olabode, University of Aberdeen
- Nathalie Pinheiro, Imperial College London
- Alex Trenam, Heriot-Watt University
CHI4Science Group (CO2 Storage)
- Sarah Perez, Heriot-Watt University
- Minghui Ye, Heriot-Watt University
- Yueyan Li, Imperial College London
- Fugui Liu, Heriot-Watt University
Guardians of Carbon Group (CO2 Storage)
- Zhenkai (Josh) Bo, Heriot-Watt University
- Heng Wang, University of Aberdeen
- Muhammad Ali, Heriot-Watt University
- Bertrand Nortier, University of Exeter
Rice Cake Group (CO2 Capture)
- Eman Medani, Heriot-Watt University
- Yuhui Yin, Heriot-Watt University
- Dennis Kim, Imperial College London
Vitamines (CO2 Capture)
- Marcos Cirne, Heriot-Watt University
- Yihang Fang, University College London
- Yongkyu Lee, University College London
- Seungtae (Tey) Kim, Imperial College London
LLM4Action Group (LLM for Policy)
- Hailun Xie, University of Exeter
- Maryam Khaksar Ghalati, University of Leicester
- Vanessa Galeano-Duque, Heriot-Watt University
- Elsy Milan, Imperial College London
HeMiRiHa Group (LLM for Policy)
- Matsantonis Charalampos, Heriot-Watt University
- Mingda Yuan, University College London
- Rik Lustermans, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- Siyu Guo, Imperial College London
Tentative Hackathon Agenda:
| Date | Time | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 26th | 09:00 - 12:00 |
|
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch & coffee | |
| 13:00 - 17:00 |
|
|
| Thursday 27th | 09:00 - 12:00 |
|
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch & coffee | |
| 13:00 - 17:00 |
|
|
| Friday 28th | 09:00 - 12:00 |
|
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch & coffee | |
| 13:00 - 16:00 |
|
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this event, please contact ECO-AI project manager at aw2073@hw.ac.uk
Hackathon photos (March 2025)
