Helping nature repair the world
Healthy rivers are essential for a healthy planet. But pollution has disrupted rivers’ natural ability to deliver carbon to the ocean.
Nova Scotia-based CarbonRun believes it has developed a solution. Its technology deacidifies waterways by adding crushed limestone to rivers impacted by pollution.
The potential co-benefits are even bigger than the company first realized. “Our technology was created to restore rivers from pollution – we later discovered that it actually also removed carbon,” says founder, COO and CSO, Shannon Sterling.
CarbonRun’s use of safe and natural materials in a verifiable process offers a way to “turn the clock back” on the impacts of acid rain, adds co-founder and CEO, Luke Connell.
Effectively, it works by assisting a natural process: “There’s something about the simplicity of our approach – just enabling nature to do what its always done,” Connell says.
“Our technology was created to restore rivers from pollution – we later discovered that it actually also removed carbon.”
Shannon Sterling, founder, COO and CSO, CarbonRun
Clearing the smoke away
The recent COP29 climate summit heard that the world may already have hit the critical threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius of warming above pre-industrial temperatures – underlining the need for faster action to safeguard the climate.
River deacidification and other activities, such as direct air capture and afforestation, must contribute to the daunting goal of removing 5 to 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually, if net zero is to be achieved by 2050.
Sterling cites Senator Colin Deacon’s analogy of the world as a smoky room. Broad decarbonization efforts can stop the smoke being emitted, but meantime it’s equally important to “clear the room”, by removing carbon dioxide.
CarbonRun’s technology, and carbon removal generally, is an add-on to decarbonization rather than a substitute, says Connell. “The world is losing options, so I think it’s very exciting when you can add an option back that makes the opportunity bigger,” he says.
As a relatively low-cost solution that can be quickly deployed, offering biodiversity benefits as well as climate gains, the company is well placed to scale up rapidly, he adds.
“The world is losing options, so I think it’s very exciting when you can add an option back that makes the opportunity bigger.”
Luke Connell, co-founder and CEO, CarbonRun
Carbon credits fuel tech breakthroughs
CarbonRun is one of a host of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies to emerge recently. Some 90% of CDR companies operating today were founded within the past four years, says Connell, while the number actively removing carbon has risen from four or five to around 30 within a year.
Businesses and investors are supporting these technologies by investing in carbon credits. While each credit represents one ton of carbon avoided or removed from the atmosphere, prices vary wildly between $1 and $1,500, with complex tech-based solutions pricing higher.
Connell is heartened by what he sees as a flight to quality in this market. “People are very quickly becoming aware of the differences between a $1 and a $1,500 credit, and what that means for them,” he says. “Verifiability is critical right now, and people are willing to pay for that.”
Brian Hong, Director, Environmental Market Solutions at RBC Capital Markets notes: “We need to support lots of different technologies and see what works best,” he explains.
Hong believes CDR will follow a similar path to renewable energy, with tech players and governments leading investment while costs are high, leading to more affordable price points as technology scales up.
“We need to support lots of different technologies and see what works best.”
Brian Hong, Director, Environmental Markets Solutions Group, RBC Capital Markets
Bigger rivers, lower price
CarbonRun recently secured a $25.4m deal with carbon removal buyers’ club Frontier. The agreement will see the removal of 55,442 tons of CO₂ at multiple river sites between 2025 and 2029.
The company plans to focus on launching projects to service that demand in the first half of 2025, before seeking further large offtakes in the latter part of the year.
Its ultimate goal is to scale by operating in successively bigger rivers, and bring its price below $100 per ton. “Right now we’re operating in small to medium-sized rivers, where we can really focus on demonstration,” says Sterling.
