Not All Coastlines Are Equal: New Research Maps Where OAE Actually Makes Economic Sense
Dumping alkalinity into the ocean works. The chemistry is straightforward — add dissolved minerals, shift the carbonate equilibrium, pull more CO₂ from the atmosphere into the water. But where you dump it might matter more than how much you dump. A new study presented at the EGU 2026 General Assembly puts hard numbers on the regional cost variation, and the spread is enormous. The research, titled “Carbon Dioxide Removal via Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement: Uneven Costs and Optimal Regions,” models OAE deployment across different coastal environments. The core finding: geography dominates the economics. Water temperature, mixed layer depth, existing pCO₂ levels, hydrodynamic mixing patterns, and proximity to alkalinity sources all compound to create wildly different cost curves depending on where you deploy. ...