Isometric’s Post

The Labour Party's recent election in the UK has implications for the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry. The UK has already taken significant steps to support CDR—these initiatives should continue and expand. Setting clear rules for what CDR will qualify for inclusion in the UK ETS is a key priority, amongst other important items like public procurement and financing. CDR has a vital role to play in enabling the UK to meet its climate targets. With the right balance of rule-making, incentives and financial support, the new government has a real opportunity to help the UK CDR sector flourish. Read more about what's needed from Isometric Policy and Business Development Manager David Armstrong.

Isometric today released a protocol for durable carbon removal through Electrolytic Seawater Mineralization (ESM) into public consultation. This brings the total number of Isometric protocols to nine. Carbon removal through ESM occurs within a closed system, which allows for the quantification of carbon dioxide removal to be directly measured within the facility. This is a foundational piece enabling robust MRV that buyers can have confidence in. ESM splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen by passing an electric current through seawater. This generates an alkaline stream and an acidic stream. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is added to the alkaline stream which increases dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater and produces carbonate minerals, both of which sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. The acid stream is neutralized through the addition of alkaline rock and minerals. The two streams are then recombined and processed to an environmentally safe quality before returning to the ocean. ESM also has a co-benefit of producing green hydrogen. Carbon removal supplier Equatic.tech provided key feedback during the development of this protocol and is the first supplier signed up to the protocol. Equatic has developed an electrolytic process for CDR that stabilizes carbon dioxide in seawater and creates an alkaline slurry that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using a cooling tower. Equatic is currently planning ESM projects in Singapore and Quebec. Comments on this protocol are welcome from interested buyers, suppliers and scientists.

Isometric has released a protocol for durable carbon removal through Subsurface Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage for public consultation. Storage of biomass in the subsurface falls within the broader category of Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS), which is a promising pathway for advancing carbon removal. The protocol outlines a methodology for calculating durable subsurface storage of biomass for 1,000 years. This requires characterizing the minimum detection limit of testing, using this limit to conservatively estimate the durable carbon stored on that same time scale and rigorous requirements for ensuring storage sites are protected and undisturbed. Projects or processes must also utilize agricultural or forestry residues as eligible feedstocks in accordance with Isometric's Biomass Feedstock Accounting Module. Carbon removal supplier Graphyte provided feedback during the development of this protocol. Comments are welcome from interested buyers, suppliers and scientists. This brings Isometric’s total number of protocols to eight.

There are a few spots left for our webinar on Wednesday. The Isometric Science Team will be introducing our newest protocol—Biochar Production and Storage. You will learn more about Isometric's requirements for biochar production and storage; measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) guidelines; and approaches to crediting. https://lnkd.in/ebhbFekF

Join our upcoming webinar to learn more about Isometric's newest protocol— Biochar Production and Storage—from the Isometric Science Team. Topics will include requirements for biochar production and storage; measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) guidelines; and approaches to crediting. https://lnkd.in/ebhbFekF

Isometric today released a protocol for durable carbon removal through Biochar Production and Storage into public consultation. Biochar is a carbon-rich solid material produced when biomass is pyrolized—heated to high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment—and it can be durably stored in many ways. This version of the protocol covers biochar, produced from pyrolized waste biomass, as a soil amendment that is applied to agricultural surface soils. Buyers can be sure that credits issued from biochar projects under the Isometric protocol represent a tonne of durably stored carbon for three key reasons. First, the protocol accounts for biochar’s predictable decay rate. Second, the protocol adopts a conservative approach to crediting, with only the durable portion of the organic carbon content in the biochar being eligible for the generation of credits. Third, the protocol includes guidelines for project-specific measurements and assessments of durability, sustainable biomass sourcing criteria and environmental safeguarding information. Isometric will only issue credits where a durability of at least 200 years has been established. This reflects the European Union's position as established in its forthcoming regulation on carbon removal (Carbon Removal Certification Framework Regulation). The novel work published by Hamed Sanei et al. (2024) has also been incorporated into the development of this protocol. The protocol is the first to allow for biochar credits to be certified with a higher durability of 500 years. To achieve this, projects will be required to collect and submit robust evidence to demonstrate the inertinite fraction of the biochar, which is effectively permanent over geological time frames. The protocol was created in collaboration between Isometric’s in-house Science Team and interdisciplinary expert reviewers from the Isometric Science Network, a group of over 200 carbon removal scientists. It will now undergo a full public consultation. Comments received during the public consultation period will be considered before finalizing the protocol. Final guidelines regarding durability—and any corresponding updates required to the Isometric Standard—will be implemented before any credits are issued. The public consultation period for the Isometric Biochar Protocol is a key step towards helping carbon removal scale to the level that the planet needs. This is what Isometric was founded to do.

Isometric today announced partnerships with 12 of the most important platforms in carbon removal. Patch, Watershed, Supercritical, Klimate.co, Carbonx Climate, Milkywire, Carbonplace, Wren, Rubicon Carbon, Cloverly and CEEZER have all partnered with Isometric to provide their end customers access to Isometric’s high quality carbon credits. Terraset is also providing a way for people to fund carbon removal through tax-deductible donations. These partners are already helping thousands of companies take action to reduce their carbon footprints and decarbonize. It’s critically important that those companies now begin to incorporate high quality carbon removal credits into their sustainability plans. By partnering with Isometric, these platforms can now offer buyers of all sizes the ability to secure credits certified against Isometric's scientifically rigorous protocols. In addition to the 12 platforms mentioned, other organizations are also leveraging key data from the Isometric Registry. Frontier, AlliedOffsets and CDR.fyi are all improving their offerings by integrating Isometric’s data. To support these partnerships, Isometric has launched an Application Programming Interface (API) for the distribution and management of its high quality carbon credits. Isometric’s Registry and MRV APIs allow users to seamlessly manage, transfer and retire credits in real-time. Broadening access to high-quality credits through integrations like these can expand the type and number of buyers in the market, which is critical to scaling the CDR industry.