A drop in the ocean: does experimental technology hold the key to saving the world’s seas? | Geoengineering
IIn October 2024, an American company called EBB Carbon announced The largest marine carbon removal deal in the world To date, signing a millions of dollars agreement with Microsoft to try to help solve a very real problem in the world’s seas: ocean acidification.
EBB plans to use a method called the oceanic ocean alkaline (OAE) to imitate the natural process of ocean alkalis – in other words, it wants to add huge amounts of alkaline materials to the ocean water that scientists now know that they are gel.
EBB is not alone. In September 2024, Canada The planetary techniques that were raised A little more than $ 11 million (8 million pounds) from companies including Evok Innovations and BDC Capital to enhance ocean alkaline, while in 2025, another company was sold, equal, 60,000 carbon removal credit to BoeingTo enable it to do the same.
The sector’s growth – part of the larger carbon removal market – was astronomically, and began to resolve the alarm bells for many ocean scientists around the world.
“The jury is still about the damage that OAE can cause,” says Dr. James Kerry, an expert in coral reefs and research fellow at James Cook University. He says that if a lot of alkaline is added to the water, an event called rainfall can occur: carbonate can create minerals in water that acts as pollutants. “It may prevent light levels; it may be wrong as food by marine creatures.”
Throughout the world, ocean gel increases. Since the ocean absorbs 30 % of the excess carbon in the atmosphere, it places a series of chemical reactions that lead to the acid acidity of the acidic ocean, which in turn affects humans and marine life.
The pH in the global sea waters increased by 40 % since pre -industry times, With nearly half of that increase that has occurred since the 1980s. On the western coast of the Americas, Upweellings of Deep -sea contributed to a The mass acidification occurred in 2012 Which contributed to the death of the sea forests along more than 220 miles (350 km) from the coast. These transformations in the acidity of the ocean affect the smallest creatures, especially crustaceans such as shellfish or crabs, whose bone structures cannot build in such circumstances.
While a little doubt that ocean acidification is a real and growing problem, anxiety is that the science behind geological engineering solutions, which manipulates natural land operations to try to solve the problem, in its cradle. However, hundreds of millions of dollars are poured into the age of these solutions.
Large companies buy credits in carbon dioxide (CO2) Dealing projects as a way to compensate for their emissions, which allows them to achieve the goals of sustainability or compliance with regulations.
The total carbon purchases (not only those for marine projects) increased from 41 million pounds in 2022 to more than 1.9 billion pounds in 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some experts say The industry can grow to 37 billion pounds by 2030Driving with industries that struggle to reduce their emissions, especially flying, cement and steel production.
“In all kinds of mitigation methods, everything is widely,” said Dr. Christopher Juller of Stone Brock University. “If it is not limited significantly enough, it will have no effect. If there is an exaggeration in the interpretation, they can pay a very high acidity, which may create problems for some living organisms, such as seaweed.”
Ben Tarbil, CEO of EBB, says the issue of size is “essential for any climate solution” and that the company is aware of this safely and responsibly. “We specifically measure the alkaline measurement that is presented to the ocean,” he says. “We constantly track the main water indicators such as the pH, and we can stop them automatically if any sills are approaching.”
It also indicates a The study conducted with scientists and the Local Local Elwha Klalam tribe In Port Angeles, Washington, the company pledged to test the effects of alkaline reinforcement on salmon in carefully controlled conditions.
As the industry advances forward, many look forward to the decline and the Microsoft deal to find out what will happen next. It now operates in Washington State in the United States with less than 100 tons annually from carbon removal, the company will move this summer to a new factory in Port Angeles, just 30 miles (50 km), which can remove 1000 tons of carbon a year.
“This factory will enable us to confidence in building many largest plants,” says Tarbell. The company builds its infrastructure into existing water desalination factories. “Our approach to strengthening alkaline in the ocean can achieve more than 2 billion tons of Co2 Remove a year in the coming decades. “
“We will not fix the bulk of the ocean, but we will be able to cancel the coastal ocean, as most of the forms of life flourish.”
Since the technologies that these companies use are new, international and national legislative bodies are struggling to keep pace with this. . While an international legal consensus is reached on how to control the reinforcement of alkaline in the ocean, some companies are advancing in field trials.
In 2022, the techniques of the planets in Canada attracted their experiences in Saint -Bay in Cornwall, UK. Ocean alkaline enhancement techniques have become a target for a campaign for months by the local population, their surfers, wildlife institutions and business owners, who all felt that they did not give enough information about the damage that these experiences might do.
Some, such as Sue Sayer, founder of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust, are concerned about damage to the local ecosystem, especially the population of gray seal. She said at the time of the protests: “In the best scenario, there are no effects on the seals; in the worst scenario there is no fish, no seals, no surfers, no tourism, no economy.”
Planetary techniques It no longer works in the United KingdomBut by 2024, it announced a new round of financing, including the sale of carbon credit to Microsoft. He said in April this year that the Corniche experience “showed great potential”, but has since decided not to follow a full program in Cornwal “due to the commercial feasibility.”
When asked about its new tour of financing and Cornwall’s protests, the company refused to comment.
Many scientists do not oppose exploring geological ventilation possibilities, especially since pressure to do something more than just reduce emissions.
“The final cause of global ocean acids rises2 “To the increasing atmosphere of emissions,” says Goeller.2 Perhaps the effect of every approach should be. “
Brad Ak, CEO of the company Ocean visionsNon -profit carbon removal, and this is confirmed. “There is one driver line of the pain that we see on this planet, and this is the concentration of greenhouse gases in the air. There are only two ways to influence it. One is stopping2 The other is to take it out. “
But many want to consider other solutions first and are concerned about the speed of progress in this man -making approach. Kerry suggests searching for more ground -based solutions, such as restoring and protecting marine habitats as a way to alleviate the problem.
Other issues that companies face are accurately assessing the amount of carbon that is removed by OAE. Various factors such as water depth, temperature, tide, carrots and changes at the sea floor affect the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and the construction of the period that will be isolated.
Dr. David is, from [C]Worky, which is non -profit for maritime carbon removal of technologies such as strengthening alkaline in the ocean, believes that carbon removal efforts should be driven at the government level. “It makes sense for these companies to sell credits to survive,” he says. “At the same time, they have no way to prove that what they are doing is effective – this is a big problem.”
