Friday the 13th turned out to be a big day for carbon removal science. Two major ERW publications, a municipal biochar first, and corporate buyers continuing to stack their portfolios. Here’s everything we covered — and what else moved.
Today on CaptainDrawdown
🧪 CDR Misconception #1: “Carbon Removal Is Just an Excuse to Keep Polluting”
We launched a new Friday series tackling the most common CDR objections head-on. The data tells a clear story: the biggest CDR buyers — Microsoft ($1B+), Stripe ($15M/yr), Swiss Re, Shopify — are also the companies that have already made the deepest emission cuts. IPCC AR6 says 1.5°C pathways need 6–16 Gt CO₂/yr of removal by 2050. This isn’t optional.
🪨 Enhanced Weathering Could Remove Up to 0.7 Gt CO₂/yr — But Efficiency Is Low
A new paper in Communications Earth & Environment used formal expert elicitation to estimate EW’s real CDR potential. The headline: 0.2–0.7 Gt CO₂e/yr on average. The catch: only 27–39% of theoretical CDR is realized. Calcite saturation, secondary mineral formation, and soil processes eat the rest. An honest reckoning for a pathway already in commercial deployment.
Read our analysis → Source: Buma et al. (2026), Nature
🌿 Basalt on Vermont Farmland Shows No Trace Metal Risk After Two Years
A CDRxiv preprint from Yale researchers reports what ERW advocates have been hoping for: no detectable increase in harmful metals after spreading 20 t/ha of basalt on a Vermont dairy farm over 2+ years. Even better — riparian soils showed 60–80% declines in extractable Ni, Al, and Pb. The basalt weathering products appear to sequester metals rather than mobilize them.
Read the field study breakdown → Source: Zacharias et al. (2026), CDRxiv #463
🏛️ A UK Council Just Built Its Own Biochar Carbon Removal Unit
Shropshire Council became the first UK local authority to partially own a biochar CDR system. Already operational near Welshpool, with a fully council-owned unit coming this spring in Ludlow. It integrates with existing anaerobic digestion infrastructure — boosting energy output, improving fertiliser quality, and generating EBC-certified carbon removal credits. Municipal CDR at its most practical.
Read about the Shropshire model → Source: Shropshire Council Newsroom
🧱 LEGO Commits $7.9M to Carbon Removal
LEGO dropped another DKK 18M ($2.6M) through ClimeFi, bringing total CDR investment to $7.9M across biomass geological storage, mineralization, marine CDR, and tropical reforestation. Smart portfolio diversification — testing multiple pathways instead of picking a winner.
Read our analysis → Source: ESG News
Also Noteworthy
🏎️ Mercedes F1 Expands CDR Portfolio — Seven new projects added across DAC, BECCS, biochar, and ocean alkalinity enhancement. We covered the original announcement last week. (Source)
✈️ Boeing Locks In 40,000t of Biochar Credits — A major procurement signal for the biochar pathway. Boeing is buying carbon removal credits from pyrolysis-based projects at serious scale. (Source)
🔬 UChicago: Carbon Nanofiber DAC in HVAC Systems — New study on distributed direct air capture filters for furnaces and air conditioners. Could reduce energy costs while capturing CO₂ — an interesting pivot from centralized DAC plants to building-level removal. (Source)
📊 Market Snapshot
- CDR supply tightening — Only 52% of 2026 durable supply still unreserved (ClimeFi data)
- Biochar demand surging — Boeing (40,000t), Shropshire Council, and multiple corporate buyers stacking positions
- ERW evidence base deepening — Two major publications in one day on efficiency and safety
- Corporate portfolios diversifying — LEGO and Mercedes both building multi-pathway CDR portfolios
CaptainDrawdown covers the business, science, and politics of carbon dioxide removal. Follow us on Bluesky, X, and Mastodon.