CarbonRun
Founders Luke (CEO, left), Shanon (CSO, middle), and Edmund (CTO, right)
Collecting data samples in Halifax
Bigger Picture
Rivers are a key component of the hydrological and carbon cycle, and continually interface with the oceans bringing in fresh water, minerals and organic matter. Annually, they deliver gigatonnes of organic and inorganic carbon from land to oceans. Understanding and leveraging the roles rivers fulfill in both the water and carbon cycle presents an opportunity to impact atmospheric CO2 and enhance river and marine ecosystems concurrently.
The Problem
River water quality is increasingly compromised by acid rain and pollution. As a result, rivers can have exceptionally high levels of pCO₂, making them increasingly acidic and leading to falling fish populations. High pCO₂ also leads to the premature release of a substantial amount of CO2 into the atmosphere before it can reach the ocean.
Geochemical carbon removal methods, like enhanced rock weathering, apply alkaline minerals to soils, turning atmospheric CO₂ into stable bicarbonate, which is transported from soils to oceans via rivers. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), employs the same principle to oceans, boosting their alkalinity to enable more efficient absorption of atmospheric CO₂. This not only reduces ocean acidification but also supports marine biodiversity and promotes a healthier oceanic ecosystem.
Despite its potential, the implementation of geochemical CDR, and particularly OAE, faces challenges due to the complexity of open ocean systems and the difficulty in measuring its effects (MRV). Moreover, the requirement for sophisticated engineering and logistics in marine settings introduces significant costs and operational risks.
Why CarbonRun?
CarbonRun’s approach, known as River Alkalinity Enhancement (RAE), directly addresses the issue of poor river health at the same time as sequestering CO₂.
Unparalleled domain expertise with complementary skillsets
The amazing team at CarbonRun has the perfect mix of the technical and the commercial. With decades of experience in river hydrology and extensive experience of river restoration projects, the team also has strong commercial grounding and a clear mission to make a global impact.
Carbon removals combined with a positive impact on river restoration
Feeding into the ocean’s mineral carbon cycle, RAE offers the prospect of delivering low cost carbon removal at scale. Using tailored delivery solutions at the river level can also sympathetically restore river ecosystems – enhancing local river ecologies and biodiversity.
Existing protocols for alkalinity addition in rivers to accelerate deployment
CarbonRun’s approach has been deployed in river restoration projects alongside local communities for years. This knowledge base reduces future deployment risks and should allow accelerated project development timelines.
Fast pathway to strong MRV for early acceptance
Unlike the inherent complexity of the ‘open-systems’ in ocean MRV, we believe that MRV in rivers is ‘semi-open’ – and, as such, more easy to observe, allowing for stronger MRV, enhanced integrity and trust. This, in turn, should drive early demand in the CDR markets, alongside the measurable ecosystem benefits.
Potential to deliver low cost CDR at global scale
Finally, engineering scaling studies and data mapping across the world’s river systems suggest that CarbonRun’s approach could reach carbon removals costs below $100/t and be deployable globally at the gigatonne scale.
