Planetary Technologies has managed to successfully remove 138 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere via Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), marking a world’s first and laying pioneering groundwork for ocean-based CO2 removal.
The company announced that it has delivered its first batch of OAE carbon removal credits, of which Shopify will receive 96 tonnes and Stripe will receive 42 tonnes as part of a prepurchase agreement with Frontier.
The groundbreaking CO2 credits were generated through Planetary’s operations at its Project Halifax site in Nova Scotia, Canada. The milestone success of this initial small-scale demonstration paves the way for wider OAE application in the future.
CEO Mike Kelland commented that delivering the first net OAE credits is a monumental step not only for Planetary but for the entire field of ocean-based CO2 removal.
He added, “Thanks to our pioneering partners, we’ve shown that this is both safe and effective at this small scale and responsibly cleared the way for the next set of credit deliveries.”
Planetary Technologies has been focused on developing OAE technology in collaboration with Dalhousie University and Nova Scotia Power—a work symbiosis that resulted in deepened knowledge on ocean-based carbon removal and vital insights that helped outline an essential framework for validating and verifying efforts in this field.
The importance of Planetary’s work extends beyond just proving the carbon removal feasibility of OAE.
As the company stated, the OAE method used in their operations showed no measurable ecosystem impact and no metals or toxins were accumulated in the sediments, factors that serve as confirmation that this CO2 removal approach is environmentally safe when performed at this scale.
The Halifax project team also managed to refine the monitoring and examination processes that determine the OAE effectiveness using local high-resolution ocean modeling and cutting-edge observation approaches.
Lastly, the team employed advanced ocean models to navigate the monitoring and to quantify the near-field CO2 removal results.
Following this major leap, Planetary Technologies will work both on scaling up and scaling out operations, basing their advancement strategy on a holistic approach that will center around communities, scientific rigor, and environmental care.
Read more: Planetary Technologies Raises $11.35M In Series A Funding
