Science

Scaling CDR Could Strain Resources — Nature Communications Earth

New Nature Paper: Scaling CDR to Gigatons Could Strain Global Mineral and Nutrient Supplies

Here’s the reality check the CDR industry needs to sit with: a new paper in Communications Earth & Environment (Nature portfolio) finds that scaling negative emissions technologies to the gigatons could create serious resource and environmental bottlenecks — some of which nobody is planning for. The paper by Cobo, Galán-Martín, and Guillén-Gosálbez runs a comprehensive life-cycle assessment across the full CDR technology portfolio and identifies what the authors call “previously overlooked bottlenecks.” ...

Enhanced rock weathering potential to absorb one billion tonnes of CO2

ERW Could Absorb 1 Billion Tonnes of CO₂ — But the Details Matter

New Scientist highlighted a growing body of research suggesting that spreading crushed basalt on farmland could absorb up to 1 billion tonnes of CO₂. Field trials in Queensland, Australia, are among the latest to generate real data. Nations like Brazil are already deploying enhanced rock weathering (ERW) at scale, partly because crushed silicate rock also reduces fertiliser costs. Big number. Important caveat: “could” is doing a lot of work in that headline. ...

Ocean alkalinity enhancement trial in the Gulf of Maine shows CO2 uptake without marine life harm

Gulf of Maine OAE Trial: CO₂ Captured, No Harm to Marine Life

The first ship-based ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) experiment just delivered results. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution poured 65,000 litres of sodium hydroxide into the Gulf of Maine in August 2025, and the findings are cautiously encouraging: 2–10 tonnes of CO₂ removed in four days, with up to 50 tonnes estimated total. No significant impact on marine life detected. Adam Subhas and his team presented these findings at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026 in Glasgow. “We can definitely say that there was additional CO₂ uptake as a result of this experiment,” Subhas said. ...