CDR Monthly Recap - October 2024

We are back with another edition of the CDR Monthly Recap, a monthly round-up of some of the top news, developments, and market updates from the world of durable carbon removal. After a big September that saw sales of over 600,000 tonnes of CDR, in October, there were nearly 63,000 tonnes of CDR sold, driven largely by a single deal between Climeworks and Morgan Stanley for 40,000 tonnes. Other developments such as large funding rounds, new projects, and partnerships continue to drive momentum for the industry ahead, along with a host of events in the field.

Read on to learn more below!

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Deals and Partnerships

[Image source: Climeworks]

DAC company Climeworks and financial services company Morgan Stanley signed a 10-year agreement for 40,000 tonnes of CDR. This is Climeworks’ second largest deal to date and is Morgan Stanley’s first recorded purchase of durable CDR.

NextGen CDR signed an offtake agreement with India-based enhanced weathering startup Alt Carbon, connecting Asia’s CDR market to global buyers. NextGen will purchase the CDR credits at an average price of $200/tonne for 2025-30 delivery.

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Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) company Ebb Carbon signed an initial agreement with Microsoft on the sale of 1,333 tonnes of CDR, with the potential to go up to 350,000 tonnes over the next 10 years.

Non-profit climate fund Terraset made its largest ever CDR purchase, nearly $3 million to purchase over 5,000 tonnes of CDR from 11 suppliers.

Biomass Direct Storage company Vaulted Deep announced the delivery of 915 tonnes of CDR, 4 months after its $58.3 million offtake agreement was confirmed with Frontier buyers.

CapturePoint partnered with Climeworks to transport CO₂ from Climeworks' DAC facility in Louisiana-based Project Cypress DAC Hub to its CENLA Hub for permanent underground storage in Class VI wells.

Varaha, an Indian regenerative agriculture and carbon removal project developer, launched India’s first CDR credits for industrial biochar through CDR registry Puro.Earth.

Airfix and The Carbon Removers (formerly Carbon Capture Scotland) announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of CDR solutions, with a primary focus on BECCS across the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

UK-based DAC company Origen Carbon announced a partnership with the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) in North Dakota to advance the commercial development of its limestone-base DAC solution at 1,000 tonnes per annum scale.

A new coalition was launched by The Carbon Removal Show, including founding members Carbon Gap, CarbonX, Klarna, MASH Makes, Milkywire, Negative Emissions Platform, Opna, Patch, Planboo, ReCarber, Standard Gas, Sebastian Manhart, and Supercritical.

Unbound Summits launched two new tools - Unbound Directory, a new “yellow pages” of CDR with over 2,500 professionals, and Unbound Library, a content repository to inform and orient the CDR industry.

Climate finance platform Kumo announced a new partnership with biochar marketplace biochar zero to support biochar developers in accessing institutional debt financing across Europe.

CDRjobs, the platform for job openings in the CDR space, announced the launch of a partnership programme, offering tiered service levels to organizations in CDR looking to hire talent.

Projects

[Image source: Octavia Carbon]

Kenyan DAC company Octavia Carbon unveiled its pilot Project Hummingbird at its site in Kenya’s Rift Valley, the first-ever DAC plant in the Global South. Built in collaboration with Cella Mineral Storage, it can capture 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Bolivia-based biochar producer Exomad Green announced its plans to double its capacity from 400,000 tonnes to 800,000 tonnes of CDR by 2027. The expansion will see one new plant be operational in 2026 and another two by 2027.

Meadow Lake Tribal Council and Carbon Alpha’s North Star project passed Puro.earth’s Preliminary Assessment and is registered as a Future Facility, becoming the first Canadian CDR and the first BECCS project listed on the platform.

DAC company Climeworks announced its plans to build a new facility in southwest Louisiana as part of the Project Cypress DAC Hub. It plans to mobilize $50 million in private investments to match the $50 million already provided for the project by the DOE.

Swedish company Nordbex announced the launch of its first BECCS plant in Nybro, Sweden. The project, with an energy production capacity of 315GWh, can capture 200,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year.

UK-based DAC company Mission Zero started the delivery and installation of its DAC system at its partner Deep Sky’s CDR innovation and commercialization centre in Innisfail, Alberta.

California-based Charm Industrial, which provides carbon removal through bio-oil sequestration, introduced Ledger - its new system for reliable measurement and verification of biomass-based CDR.

Halifax, Canada-based River Alkalinity Enhancement company CarbonRun inaugurated its West River Pictou project to neutralize river acidity and restore the river’s ability to transport carbon to the ocean.

Danish CDR startup Klimate in collaboration with Mammut, ARC, Bofort, and Carbonaide, launched a new project for carbon removal and its storage in concrete in Copenhagen.

Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) company Captura announced its plans to expand its research, development, and demonstration efforts in Hawaii and Los Angeles, to fast-track the commercialization of its technology and large-scale deployments.

Sitos Group and Treehouse California Almonds partnered to launch a $9 million slow pyrolysis biochar facility in Delano, California to remove carbon by transforming almond shells into high-quality biochar.

Biochar producer Carbon Plus launched Malaysia’s first industrial biochar facility to produce 500 tonnes of biochar annually. It has integrated CrystalTrade’s dMRV solution to track and optimize its carbon removal processes.

Inherit Carbon Solutions and Norway's largest wastewater treatment plant Veas, with subsidiary Hoop CO2, entered into a collaboration to launch the world's first carbon removal project from wastewater.

DAC company Spiritus announced manufacturing capabilities in a new facility in Missouri that will exclusively produce the novel sorbent material that will enable its Orchard One project to passively remove CO₂ from the air.

Vycarb, specializing in carbon removal and storage, unveiled its pilot project in New York City’s East River. The pilot, supported by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, will utilize water and minerals to remove and store 100 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

Colorado-based climate tech company Travertine Technologies plans to build a multi-million dollar demonstration plant near Rochester, NY, to recycle gypsum into sulfuric acid while removing CO₂ in partnership with Sabin Metal Corp.

LowCarbon unveiled its Zero C airborne DAC device at Seoul’s Energy Dream Center as part of an agreement between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and LowCarbon to collaborate on carbon neutrality and climate change technologies.

Financing

[Image source: US DOE]

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, along with the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office, announced over $58.5 million in funding for 11 projects to advance the carbon removal industry in the U.S.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management closed its 1GT climate private equity fund at $750 million. The fund will focus on companies in North America and Europe aiming to avoid or remove one gigatonne of CO₂e emissions by 2050.

1PointFive's Bluebonnet and Magnolia Sequestration Hubs received $36 million from the U.S. DOE under Phase III of the CarbonSAFE Initiative. The funding will support the development of CO₂ sequestration hubs to address industrial emissions.

Meta announced a pledge of $35 million for carbon removal projects in the coming year, matching the DOE’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize. This is part of Meta's goal to reach net zero by 2030.

Dutch CDR startup Paebbl closed its Series A round of $25 million, which saw participation from Capnamic, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Holcim MAQER Ventures and Aurum Impact along with existing investors.

Ocean-based climate solutions company Planetary completed its Series A funding round of $11.35 million. The investment round was led by Evok Innovations and saw participation from BDC Capital, Amplify Capital, DNX Ventures, and Iconiq Capital.

At an event hosted by Carbon Removal Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat announced a $10 million carbon removal procurement program, making Canada one of the first countries to commit to purchasing carbon removal.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather public input on ways DOE programs can support DAC technology developers in raising investment capital and sustaining operations.

The European Union announced a new Innovative Action Grant of €15 million under the Horizon Europe Programme to further the technological development of DACCS and BECCS projects in the continent.

The California Energy Commission launched a new grant funding opportunity of $14.7 million to advance the technical, economic, and environmental viability of innovative DAC technologies to meet the state’s carbon neutrality goals.

Enhanced weathering startup CREW Carbon completed its seed round funding of $5.3 million and saw participation from Counteract, ReGen Ventures, ANIMO, Connecticut Innovations, Ponderosa Ventures, and Newlab, amongst other investors.

Octavia Carbon announced a seed round of $3.9 million and $1.1 million in carbon financing. The round was co-led by Lateral Frontiers VC and E4EAfrica, with support from other investors.

Agricultural manufacturing company Truecoco Ghana raised $3.3 million from Growth Investment Partners Ghana to expand its soybean processing operations and fund the launch of an industrial biochar carbon removal project, a first in Ghana.

US-based non-profit Ocean Visions announced a new investment of up to $1.5 million for the development of an Environmental Impact Assessment Framework for marine CDR (mCDR).

Wren Climate Collective selected HyveGeo, Lillianah Technologies, and SamudraOceans, from the Airminers Kiloton Fund, to receive $100,000 in grants as part of its effort to support innovation in climate tech.

CDR accelerator remove announced the selection of 10 startups for the first cohort of its India Accelerator Program and 20 startups for the 7th cohort of its Europe Accelerator Program. It has also signed an MOU with Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay to grow the CDR ecosystem in India.

French CDR company NetZero and Moroccan impact builder INNOVX signed an investment agreement to scale NetZero's biochar model across the Global South, focusing on Africa.

Aviva Investors launched its Carbon Removal Fund, offering access to carbon removal solutions to institutional investors such as corporates, insurers, and pension funds. The fund will invest in both nature-based and engineered solutions.

Policy and Research

[Image source: Verra]

Verra registered the first biochar project using the VM0044 Methodology under its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. The recognized project, by Together for Restoration, is located in Odisha, India. Verra also released three new modules under its CCS methodology, VM0049, allowing DAC projects to quantify CO₂ removals.

A new carbon removal standard was recognized by the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which finalized requirements for activities involving carbon removal under the Article 6.4 Mechanism, entered into force on October 9th, 2024.

Climate non-profit and think tank RMI highlighted key opportunities and principles intended for state policymakers who want to lead and scale CDR in the US. It also released a new tool called “State CDR Atlas” for US state policymakers to explore CDR opportunities and policy needs.

Cascade Climate released a new paper to build a common foundation for practitioners and researchers who set out to deploy and study enhanced weathering in the coming years. It also released EMCE: an ERW MRV Cost Estimator tool, a new data-sharing tool for enhanced weathering companies, and announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) to collect high-quality ERW field datasets on existing deployments.

Stripe Climate selected 7 Climate Fellows whose ideas to scale demand for CDR to megatonne-scale will receive grant funding to put their plans into action over the coming year.

Carbon rating agency BeZero Carbon introduced a first-of-its-kind methodology for rating carbon credit portfolios to give buyers greater confidence to make credible, risk-adjusted claims using a composition of credits.

Isometric released an update to its Energy Use Accounting Module, which details how to quantify emissions from energy used in CDR projects, for public consultation. It also certified two of its protocols based on biochar carbon removal.

Grantham Research Institute and AlliedOffsets developed a new tool called TRACEcdr to visualize how CDR methods are connected to MRV, registries, and national regulations.

Ramboll and Ecologic, commissioned by the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), released a new survey to create an overview of the European permanent carbon removal sectors and funding measures in the EU.

More than 70 companies signed the CDR Industry Commitments initiative, an initiative spearheaded by the Negative Emissions Platform, aimed at setting a new standard for the carbon removal sector while reinforcing collective dedication to combat climate change and meeting the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal.

CarbonPlan, a non-profit that analyzes climate solutions through data, launched a new interactive tool in partnership with [C]Worthy to explore global patterns in OAE efficiency across regions and seasons over time.

CDR registry Puro.earth updated its Enhanced Rock Weathering methodology, adding detail and clarity to MRV requirements in line with recent scientific advancements and field data.

Reports

[Image source: US DOE]

The DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) released a primer on CDR credits, covering topics such as - the definition of CDR, the urgency of CDR credits, the CDR purchase process, and purchase programs under the DOE.

CDR policy initiative Carbon Removal Canada released a report on the role of procurement in driving demand for carbon removal and building a sustainable market in Canada.

Sweden-based environmental impact platform Milkywire released a new whitepaper highlighting the role of CDR in achieving global net zero, strategies for businesses to integrate CDR solutions, and the importance of early investments in CDR.

CDR marketplace CarbonX released a new paper with the aim to raise awareness about the factors crucial for buyers to consider when making informed decisions about purchasing biomass-based carbon removal credits.

CDR non-profit Carbon Removal Alliance published “Establishing quality in carbon removal: a roadmap for MRV” to outline MRV improvements critical for creating a high-integrity carbon removal market.

Non-profit organization Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) released a paper providing eight key recommendations to the European Commission for the Delegated Acts on certification methodologies for DACCS and BECCS.

CDR accelerators remove and ETH Zurich sus.lab published a joint report featuring insights from an explorative study on diverse business models of European CDR startups.

Carbon Gap and the World Resources Institute released a report on a comparative assessment of the CDR policy approaches chosen by Europe and the U.S., focusing on topics such as MRV, R&D, funding, procurement, and compliance.

The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment published a new report examining the cost of MRV for different CDR methods, and it also provides recommendations to the UK government on MRV practices.

Non-profit Carbon to Sea Initiative released its 2024 annual report, showcasing the momentum, investment, and progress made over the past year to evaluate the potential of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) as an ocean-climate solution.

Aviation strategy consulting firm SimpliFlying published a new report exploring the current state and future of CDR in decarbonizing aviation, the challenges it faces, and why it could be a breakthrough for the sector.

Washington D.C.-based think tank Bipartisan Policy Center released a report highlighting the federal government’s role in bolstering demand for CDR in the near term and mechanisms for the technologies to scale over the coming decades.

The Global CCS Institute released a report documenting the key milestones in the global adoption of carbon capture and storage (CCS) over the past 12 months, including CDR methods such as BECCS and DACCS.

Leaderboard Updates

Nearly 63,000 tonnes of CDR were purchased in October, a steep drop from over 600,000 tonnes in September. Through ten months, 2024 YTD is at 6653952 tonnes, up 46.94% on 2023 FY.

Listed below are the October leaderboards for top suppliers and purchasers:

Supplier Leaderboard

Purchaser Leaderboard

Events round-up - September 2024

[Image source: Unbound Summit]

This year’s edition of Carbon Unbound West Coast saw a host of in-person events centered around carbon removal, with over 400 business pioneers, visionary scientists, and influential policymakers in San Francisco. CDR.fyi collaborated with Terraset, Carbon Unbound and Airminers to launch a live CDR marketplace to unlock open, philanthropic capital towards durable CDR and encourage the industry to lead by example by neutralizing its own carbon emissions.

Carbon Gap hosted a webinar in which it presented the key findings of its EU-USA comparative analysis. The event aimed to connect CDR policies and stakeholders from Europe and the US and support international CDR policy progress.

Carbon Reset, South Asia’s first summit on durable CDR, was held in Mumbai, India. The event was hosted by CarbonCrew and GESH IIT Bombay, and saw speakers from organizations such as remove, Carbon Removal India Alliance (CRIA), MASH Makes, XPRIZE and many more.

The 5th EU Carbon Removals Expert Group meeting was held online, which saw discussions around topics in CDR such as certification process, verification, and registries, carbon farming and permanent removals, and long-term storage in products.

Check out the CDR Events Calendar to stay updated with upcoming CDR events in October and beyond.

CDR.fyi Updates and Research

CDR.fyi Durable CDR Pricing Survey - Fall 2024

We recently released the CDR.fyi Durable CDR Pricing Survey to help market participants understand pricing expectations for durable CDR credits. The survey is open until November 22 and purchasers and suppliers completing the survey will receive a full report with detailed findings, while summary results will be published on our website next month. Market intermediaries such as Marketplaces, Brokers, and Resellers are encouraged to complete both surveys.

2024 Q3 Durable CDR Market Update

In October, we released the 2024 Q3 Durable CDR Market Update. In this report, we analyzed and uncovered key trends from the durable carbon removal market through the end of Q3 2024. A comprehensive report, with insights such as Transaction Volume, Purchaser and Supplier Profiles, and sectoral and geographic analysis, is available exclusively to our Data Partners and Platform Subscribers. For access to the full report or further information, kindly contact us at partners@cdr.fyi.

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Disclosure

CDR.fyi is a public benefit corporation operating globally. The company has numerous contributors, some of whom have affiliations with companies in the industry, including Milkywire, Charm Industrial, CDRJobs, and DVNE. Data and content published by CDR.fyi, including This Week in CDR, this Monthly Update, and our Quarterly Market Updates, are vetted and reviewed by individuals with no conflict of interest.