The Carbon to Sea Initiative has launched two new calls for proposals that aim to advance the scientific, technical, and social understanding of the viability of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) as a climate mitigation solution.
As part of this effort, Carbon to Sea has announced two funding opportunities, named Global OAE Field Research Network and Targeted Research & Innovation.
By using Earth’s natural chemistry and the ocean’s vast CO2 storage capacity, OAE has emerged among the most promising pathways for tackling atmospheric carbon emissions.
To support the advancement of this approach, over the past four years Carbon to Sea has released grants that have backed research towards validating OAE’s underlying mechanism in lab conditions, mesocosms, and small-scale trials, modeling its potential for impact at a global scale.
The next step is to assess whether OAE can be verified and scaled responsibly in the real world.
Two types of OAE calls for proposals
Under the Global OAE Field Research Network, Carbon to Sea offers four grant types for the exploration, development, and coordination of field research sites. The call aims to establish a network of field research sites for the study of OAE.
This opportunity is open to global participation and intends to assess environmental impacts at increasing scales, efficacy across deployment methods, measurability of outcomes, sector-specific demonstration, and cost trajectories over time.
Carbon to Sea has shared that this opportunity offers up to $5,000,000 total in funding.
Relevant: Carbon To Sea And Collaborators Publish A New OAE Data Management Protocol
The Targeted Research & Innovation opportunity, on the other hand, funds two priority topics: the influence of natural sediment alkalinity flux on additionality claims of carbon removal and innovation in alkalinity sourcing and production.
Through this second branch, Carbon to Sea intends to fund a portfolio of awards of up to $1,000,000 for Targeted Research & Innovation through a two-stage application process.
Parties interested in these calls can submit a pre-proposal by September 30, 2026. Carbon to Sea points out that selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals in October 2026.
Read more: Carbon to Sea Initiative And MEOPAR Invest $4M In Canadian Ocean-Based Carbon Removal Research
