Our oceans may be on the road to recovery thanks to tech giant Microsoft inking an unprecedented marine carbon-removal deal with carbon dioxide removal startup Ebb Carbon.
According to a press release posted to Business Wire, the deal calls for Ebb to remove an initial 1,333 tons of carbon dioxide, with options to capture an additional 350,000 tonnes (over 385,000 tons) of CO2 through 2034.
To eliminate the planet-overheating gas, Ebb will employ its innovative, cost-effective carbon-removal solution called electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement. This method replicates the ocean's natural ability to draw down and safely store atmospheric CO2 forever, per the news release.
This process would occur naturally over millennia as alkaline minerals are produced through the gradual erosion of rocks. When these minerals enter the oceans, carbon dioxide in seawater breaks down into bicarbonate and carbonate ions that store carbon for over 10,000 years.
Ebb Carbon's electrochemical method mimics and accelerates this process using advanced technologies to divide seawater into acidic and alkaline streams. The company sends the alkaline solution back into the ocean, allowing it to absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere.
In addition to reducing planet-warming pollution, the carbon-removal technique mitigates ocean acidification, a harmful consequence of rising temperatures that puts marine animals and ecosystems at risk.
To ensure the carbon credits are measured and recorded accurately, Ebb will utilize the revolutionary ocean alkalinity enhancement protocol by Isometric, the world's leading carbon-removal registry.
Companies such as Equatic are racing to deploy ocean-based carbon-removal solutions, including a "vacuum-like" technology that can suck carbon straight from the oceans. The increasing availability of carbon-capture solutions will help restore balance to our oceans and planet.
"The ocean is a critical part of the carbon cycle," Brian Marrs, Microsoft's senior director of energy and carbon removal, said in the press release. "Ebb has developed technology to leverage the natural attributes of the ocean — its massive surface area and natural ocean processes that already pull CO2 from the atmosphere — to durably remove and store large volumes of atmospheric carbon."
"Microsoft is setting a powerful example with its commitment to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and by using its purchasing power to accelerate the most promising climate solutions," Ebb Carbon CEO Ben Tarbell said. "This agreement underscores the potential of Ebb Carbon's technology to contribute meaningfully to gigaton-scale carbon removal in the years ahead."
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