Large-scale Ocean Carbon Removal Agreement Worth $31 Million Signed with Partners Like Google, Stripe, and H&M for Planetary Signs
In a significant step towards combating climate change, Frontier has facilitated carbon removal offtake agreements worth more than $31 million with Planetary, a Canadian company using Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) technology.
Planetary's OAE process addresses ocean acidification and improves conditions for local marine ecosystems. The carbon removal process removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in the ocean for thousands of years.
The new participants through Frontier's partnership with Watershed will also be part of the carbon removal deliveries starting in 2026, as per the agreements with Planetary. Notable new buyers include Aledade, Canva, Match Group, Samsara, SKIMS, Skyscanner, Wise, Zendesk, Stripe, Google, Shopify, McKinsey Sustainability, Autodesk, H&M Group, and Workday.
The Tufts Cove project, led by Planetary, is noted for its rigorous measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) approach and thoughtful community engagement. The Tufts Cove project recently delivered the world's first verified OAE tons.
Hannah Bebbington, Head of Deployment at Frontier, has expressed confidence in Planetary's ability to handle the challenges associated with expanding the OAE process beyond small-scale trials. However, she also highlights the need for ironclad measurement and safety protocols and community concerns when expanding the OAE process.
The OAE process involves dissolving alkaline minerals before releasing them in the ocean and the use of sensors and validated computational models to measure the effects of the added alkalinity. Planetary emphasizes the importance of this MRV process in addressing challenges of measuring carbon removal in the ocean.
Unfortunately, there are no specific details available about the community involvement or the intended package of measures by Planetary to address public concerns and enable scaling up the Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement project at Tufts Cove in Nova Scotia.
The company's process adds a pure antacid to seawater, increasing alkalinity and neutralizing CO2 and carbonic acid in the water. The OAE process developed by Planetary has the potential to scale to billions of tons of carbon removal annually at a price range of $50 - $160 per ton. Planetary will deliver 115,000 tons of carbon removals between 2026 and 2030.
The Tufts Cove project is expected to pave the way forward for the promising pathway of ocean alkalinity enhancement. As we move towards a more sustainable future, partnerships like these are crucial in driving innovative solutions to combat climate change.
