Meta, McKinsey, Google: Global First in River Carbon Removal

Experts say carbon removal technologies are necessary to complement reduction efforts in meeting Paris Agreement targets to limit global warming.

Frontier, a more than US$1bn advance market commitment (AMC) initiative, has facilitated offtake agreements with CarbonRun to purchase US$25.4m of river liming carbon removal.

The AMC was founded by industry leaders including McKinsey Sustainability, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify and Stripe.

Nan Ransohoff, Head of Frontier and Head of Climate at Stripe, says: "River liming for carbon removal is cheap, scalable, and measurable. And yet it's underexplored and underfunded relative to its potential. 

“Moreover, CarbonRun's work will help establish the foundation for more rigorous evaluation and measurement of aquatic approaches to carbon removal more broadly."

The science behind river liming

River liming involves adding crushed limestone to acidified rivers, a practice that has been successfully employed in Scandinavia to mitigate the effects of acid rain. 

Atmospheric and land-based carbon found in rivers combines with the limestone to produce bicarbonate, which ends up in the open ocean for permanent storage.

CarbonRun, a company based in Nova Scotia, Canada founded in 2022, has discovered an additional benefit: the process can enhance rivers' natural ability to extract carbon dioxide from the air.

This innovative application of an established technique has the potential to remove substantial amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Frontier's investment aims to remove more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide between 2025 and 2029, marking a significant step towards exploring the technology's full potential.

Luke Connell, Cofounder and CEO at CarbonRun, explains: “Beyond removing tons of CO₂, this offtake will enable us to do the research on river liming’s potential in different kinds of rivers. 

“Those findings will make the difference between a pathway that is promising into one we can potentially deploy safely and at scale, putting it on the map as a serious contender for gigaton-scale carbon removal."

Cost-effectiveness and scalability of river liming for carbon removal

One of the most promising aspects of river liming for carbon removal is its cost-effectiveness. 

Frontier says that CarbonRun has a credible, near-term trajectory to achieve carbon removal costs of less than US$100 per tonne. 

This competitive pricing is achievable without the need for new technological breakthroughs, as river liming is already a well-understood and researched practice.

The economics of river liming are particularly attractive due to the wide availability and low cost of limestone, with one tonne costing around US$70. 

Additionally, limestone dosers used in the process are simple, inexpensive and can be largely automated, further reducing operational costs.

Complementing carbon reduction efforts

While carbon reduction remains a priority in the fight against climate change, experts recognise the importance of carbon removal technologies in achieving global climate goals. 

Carbon removal can play a crucial role in counterbalancing emissions from hard-to-abate industries and addressing historical emissions.

Frontier's investment in river liming technology is part of a broader portfolio of carbon removal solutions. 

It specifically focuses on solutions that store carbon permanently, do not compete for arable land, have a path to being affordable at scale and results in net new carbon removed among other factors.

Frontier’s members

Frontier has facilitated purchases on behalf of its founding members as well as other industry leaders such as Salesforce, Autodesk, H&M Group, JPMorgan Chase and Workday. 

Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, says: "This is an especially exciting deal because it represents Frontier's first offtake deal for marine carbon removal. 

“CarbonRun joins the ranks of other promising technologies in Frontier's portfolio that have potential to help our planet remove billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere in the long run."

Companies including Zendesk, Canva, Match Group and SKIMS have made purchases through Watershed's partnership with Frontier.

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