Heatmap News just published Carbon Removal Buyers Are Pumped About Industrial Waste.
Heatmap News reports that Frontier, the Stripe-led buyer coalition, has released its latest $915 million carbon removal commitment and highlighted five pathways it sees as most promising. Topping the list is surficial mineralization, which uses calcium- and magnesium-rich tailings and slag piles from mining and steelmaking to react with atmospheric CO2 and form stable carbonates. Frontier estimates the approach could eventually remove more than 10 gigatons per year at $80 to $120 per ton, with existing waste piles alone capable of absorbing 1 to 4 gigatons before dedicated mining would be needed. The other four pathways named are ocean alkalinity enhancement, biomass carbon removal and storage, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture.
Our take (Heads-up): The MRV advantage is real: containing the reaction to a defined waste pile is easier to measure than dispersing minerals across farms or oceans. That said, the 10 gigaton and $80 to $120 figures are forward-looking estimates for a pathway with little deployment history, and questions about tailings chemistry, heavy metal mobilization, and long-term site management deserve scrutiny before the cost curve is taken as given.
-> Read the full piece at Heatmap News
Captain Drawdown is flagging this. The reporting is Heatmap News’s. Go read them directly, not a rewrite from us.
Source: Heatmap CDR