Project Vesta
Olivine is a widely abundant volcanic mineral. It makes up over 50% of the Earth's upper mantle, and is the most effective mineral for enabling CO2 removal through rock weathering.
Through the natural process of weathering, rocks are transported through waterways and into the ocean, where, as part of the long-term carbon cycle, trillions of tonnes of CO2 are permanently stored in rock. This process takes place over 100-200 million years.
The problem is, humanity is releasing CO2 far faster than the planet can re-absorb it.
Project Vesta’s approach, called Coastal Enhanced Weathering, dramatically accelerates Earth's long-term CO2 removal process.
We acquire olivine and transport it to beaches, where the free energy of wave action is harnessed to crush the rock and speed up the natural carbon dioxide capture process. This process simultaneously de-acidifies the local ocean environment.
Through coastal enhanced weathering, carbon dioxide stays locked in rocks for millions of years.
We love trees, and want many more of them planted. But they require lots of arable land, and the carbon they capture is released if they ever burn.
Regenerative agriculture is mandatory for a healthy future, but it's not enough to count on as a carbon sequestration method: it's not permanent, and it demands a lot of land.
DAC is impressive, but expensive. Plus, when DAC is productized, it often puts carbon back into the atmosphere or into waste streams.
Capture 100% of humanity's annual C02 emissions with only 2% of shelf seas.
Coastal Enhanced Weathering utilizes the free energy of waves to grind and crush the olivine.
We don’t need any clever new technology breakthroughs... It's ready for development now.
Available on every continent and making up over 50% of the upper mantle, olivine is globally abundant and accessible.
Sequester carbon for
as little as $21 / tonne.
At full scale, costs less than 10% of the price of other carbon capture technologies.
For every tonne of CO2 emitted in the process of extraction and transportation of olivine, 20 tonnes of CO2 are removed from the atmosphere (~95% efficiency).
Coastal Enhanced Weathering can also support de-acidification in the local ocean ecosystem.
