Frontier Buys $31m Worth Of Antacids For The Ocean

Frontier, nan c removal clearinghouse founded by Google, Strip, Shopify, and others, announced coming that it is buying 115,208 metric tons of c removal credits from geoengineering startup Planetary successful a woody worthy $31.2 million. 

Where astir Frontier deals to day person bought c from startups specializing successful direct aerial capture, enhanced weathering, aliases bioenergy pinch c capture, nan organization’s statement pinch Planetary is its first to do truthful by enhancing water alkalinity.

The woody efficaciously prices each metric ton of c astatine $270, though Planetary says it has a scheme to yet region c for little than $100 per metric ton. At afloat tilt, water alkalinity enhancement could region complete 1 cardinal metric tons of c dioxide annually.

For decades, nan oceans person been dampening nan effects of ambiance alteration by absorbing c dioxide from nan atmosphere. That has slowed nan gait of world warming, but it besides endangers a big of marine organisms, including coral and shellfish, which dangle connected alkaline waters to thief build and support their calcareous shells and skeletons.

The world’s oceans are people a small spot alkaline. Historically, they had a pH of 8.2, but since nan business gyration began, it has fallen to 8.1. That mightiness not sound for illustration much, but pH’s logarithmic standard intends nan oceans are now 30% much acidic than successful nan early 1800s. When c dioxide reacts pinch water, it forms carbonic acid.

Planetary presently uses magnesium hydroxide to boost alkalinity, nan aforesaid constituent utilized successful over-the-counter antacids. The institution adds it astatine wastewater curen accommodation and powerfulness plants, sites that are already discharging h2o into nan ocean. That helps minimize disruption to nan coasts, and it helps Planetary support costs down.

The startup presently has 2 projects, 1 successful Nova Scotia and nan different successful Virginia.