Carbon removal registry Isometric has announced the public consultation of a new protocol for long-lasting carbon removal via Electrolytic Seawater Mineralization (ESM), with climate tech innovation company Equatic as the first supplier.
This protocol outlines the methods for monitoring, reporting, and verifying (MRV) ESM carbon removal, enabling buyers to confidently purchase carbon credits, Isometric said in a statement last week.
ESM works by splitting seawater into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis, creating alkaline and acidic streams.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is added to the alkaline stream, increasing dissolved inorganic carbon and producing carbonate minerals, which sequester atmospheric CO2.
The acidic stream is neutralized with alkaline rocks and minerals, and both streams are recombined and processed to an environmentally safe standard before being returned to the ocean. Additionally, ESM generates green hydrogen as a co-benefit.
About 90% of carbon removal in ESM occurs through the dissolution of inorganic carbon in seawater, with the remaining 10% via carbonate mineral production.
Atmospheric CO2 removed can be stored in seawater as dissolved inorganic carbon or carbonate minerals, with a durability of over 10,000 years, or on land as carbonate minerals with over 1,000 years of durability.
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The closed system of ESM allows for direct measurement of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) within the facility, ensuring robust MRV.
The protocol mandates three key points for quantifying carbon removal via ESM: direct measurement of inputs and outputs, direct measurements throughout the ESM process to validate each step, and reconciliation calculations to confirm measurement confidence.
Equatic, a key contributor to the development of the protocol, has created an electrolytic CDR process that stabilizes CO2 in seawater and removes atmospheric CO2 using a cooling tower. The company is planning ESM projects in Singapore and Quebec.
Erika La Plante, Equatic’s co-founder, emphasized the ocean’s role as a major carbon remover and the importance of seawater electrolysis in enhancing natural carbon removal processes.
The protocol, developed with input from Isometric’s scientists and over 200 independent experts, aims to ensure the safe, effective, and reliable deployment of seawater electrolysis.
Isometric’s release of this protocol, developed under the rigorous Isometric Standard, brings their total number of protocols to nine, two of which were announced earlier this month.
Public comments from interested parties will be considered before the finalization of the protocol, the registry said.
Read more: Equatic Starts Engineering Work On Its First Commercial Facility In Canada
