At Aither, we firmly believe that all decisions should be informed decisions. In our pursuit of transparency and clarity, we have actively gathered feedback from our community and contributors. The following list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) is a testament to our commitment to provide comprehensive insights into our collaboration with C3/QC3 and KlimaDAO. We hope this information will empower you with the knowledge you need to understand our vision, technology, and the path we are forging together.
What is the date of generation of the forward removals proposed in the RFC?
Within 12 months.
If we have a buyer tomorrow can we sell the credits to them? How do we do this?
If there is a need, it is possible.
If no end buyers are found before the generation and retirement is the environmental benefit exhausted?
No, like any carbon credit the benefit is exhausted once the credit is retired. The difference lays in the aspect that in the case of this technology you only get the credit issued once the tonne is effectively captures and stored and this is certified
There is a new verification protocol being developed compliant to ISO 14064-2, what are the timelines on the completion of evaluation by RINA of this verification protocol?
~ 12 - 18 months. If review & revision is needed - longer.
Who is performing the verification?
Limenet has decided to go with RINA because of its long-term history on Naval and Marine auditing. It is also the oldest verification Body worldwide and the most widely accredited verifier of carbon standards and methodologies globally
How is the data collected and verified by RINA being recorded on chain? Can you clarify the dMRV aspects of this project and the role of C3/QC3 in facilitating that? Will KlimaDAO have an opportunity to stream in some of this project integrity data to a project page set up on Carbonmark for these Limenet credits?
“To give maximum transparency to our action, we decided to develop, using the blockchain, a method of tracking negative emissions through all the steps of the process. In other words, we have created a virtual mirror of Limenet technology by making the computers (PLCs) of the plant communicate with decentralized databases tracing every operation on Polygon (Ethereum second layer). Our negative emission certificates are realized through a minting of NFT certified by a third party via MRV (monitoring reporting and verification).”
This is an ongoing discussion - we can collaborate and have this data available on-chain.
What information is available to trace the impact of the Limenet project?
See scientific document & https://limenet.tech/en/patents/
We are promoting the Limenet project in webinars and via sales appointments. What happens if a client we prospect then calls Limenet direct for pricing/ purchase information as part of their buying process?
MOQ for direct Limenet sales is 2000+ tCO2
We do not sell to firms practicing circumvention.
How had price discovery occurred to price the Limenet removals at $600 USD per tonne? What data points are being used to determine the ask price in the RFC?
Has the methodology actually been deployed in production yet?
Limenet is in production:
Methodology speaking, Limenet is developing its MRV (monitoring reporting and verification https://limenet.tech/en/mrv/) protocol according to ISO 14064-2. This protocol will be verified by a third-party firm (https://www.rina.org/en) as soon the production plant will be “on-line”.
The methodology Limenet is following to make accounting for its carbon credit is CCS+ Verra https://verra.org/methodologies/methodology-for-carbon-capture-and-storage/.
Where is the first production plant located? I see there was a pilot site in Italy but also noted that energy grid carbon intensity isn't favorable for large scale production in Italy
The first pilot plant is located at La Spezia Italy. The first of a kind pilot, will be located in Taranto (south Italy).
Limenet will buy only 100% renewable electricity from the grid and will do an LCA to understand its impact and be able to know the net CO2 that could be issued as a carbon credit.
Right now, Limenet has developed its LCA done by Politecnico di Miano (https://limenet.tech/en/lca/) and, according to 100% renewable in Italy, the inefficiency is around 10%-15%. (for instance, in Norway this value is less than 10%).
To deploy nth of a kind plant, Limenet will go where the LCOE, and its carbon footprint will be cheap and low (See https://limenet.tech/en/industrial-scalability/).
How many tonnes have been delivered so far?
Limenet captured and stored CO2 gross at its facility plant at La Spezia (Italy) in 2022 https://limenet.tech/en/trl-6/. This pilot plant was used to scientific purposes.
Limenet is now building a first of a kind pilot plant able to store from 4k (4 modules) up to 16k (16 modules) tons per year of biogenic CO2 coming from Olive crops in Taranto (south Italy).
This is the first production plant that will be ready to deliver tons by Q2-3 2024. In parallel Limenet will work with third party evaluator RINA to be compliant to ISO 14064-2.
Given the buyer may be using reporting frameworks such as CDP, how do the Limenet removals and associated tokens fit into these frameworks?
CCS+ methodology for removals is being used
These credits can only be used for the residual emissions.
For scope 3 you have a mandate to use removals. These would be perfect for these.
What is the potential for scalability regarding each related processing step?
The technology that Limenet proposes to KlimaDAO is BOAE (Buffered Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement); this is a novel approach of the well-known OAE (Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement). Those methods require Limestone and seawater as main raw materials to produce calcium bicarbonates.
According to different studies: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GB007246 ; https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016RG000533 and more, alkalinity enhancements have the potential of different Gtons of CO2 stored per year. This is because the ocean has a potential of thousands of Gtons of carbonates and bicarbonates. This is way more than any other CO2 storage solution, such as geological storage.
For more information, you can see: https://limenet.tech/en/industrial-scalability/
Additionally to the question of scalability, what is the expectation of price development in the long term? A rule-of-thumb estimate for the price difference between pilot and scaled phase can be 90%. In other words, I would expect the price to go down from the current $750-1000 towards $75-100, if the technology scales.
Limenet is assessing a TEA (Techno Economic Assessment) with Politecnico di Milano and Heriot-Watt University to evaluate the cost of TRL9 advanced plant of CO2 stored. This work was done previously with BAWL (Buffered Accelerated Weathering of Limestone) and was published in this article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11027-023-10052-x. BAWL is a previous technology of Limenet and not as effective. The cost for Limenet will be way cheaper in the future like Any other technology existing today. But at present the average cost for this type of tech is way above 600 USD and more in the range of 1000 USD. Price will decrease but this will take years.
$600 000 is a steep investment for KlimaDAO at the moment and compared to the totally allocated $1.5M for forward fundings. Assuming that scalability is going to be achieved, how could the proposed offer be improved to make it viable? In simpler words, what can be done if the average price drops towards or below $600/t during the delivery period? (Here it must also be considered that these credits will have to be traded on carbonmark, so there will have to be demand at this price.)
Limenet’ analysis sees that for the first-of-a-kind pilot plant, the price will not decrease (low economy of scale). This decrease will be for the next nth-of-a-kind that will be developed after (2026-2028). The price will be cheaper for carbon credits because of the higher economy of scale.
The risk mitigation section mentions the possible delivery of "like tons". What exactly are these? It is important to receive an amount and type of certificates that do not represent a significant loss.
Limenet will provide third-party evaluator analysis and certification (RINA https://www.rina.org/en) to buyers for the correct delivery of carbon certificates.
According to the comparison table in the proposal, the Limenet technology has the lowest amount of funding so far. What is the reason?
The reason is that this is a new approach of Mineral Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement that is not yet known by the public.
KlimaDAO should perform a demand assessment for such high-quality/high-price carbon removals. In a scenario where carbon emitting companies largely invest into renewable energies or carbon-neutral aviation fuels, it may be possible that lower-tech projects like forestry regain traction and trust. They may become a widely used basis for carbon offsetting, making the high-tech projects less relevant in the future in such a scenario.
According to the 6th IPCC report, we must rely on long-term CO2 storage techniques (Limenet is between 10k- 100k years) that are unaffected by climate change.
Unfortunately, forestry is not permanent forever and cannot be considered a permanent storage solution for CO2. The Latter is highly subjected to climate change such as fires, drought.
Can we perform additional technical assessment and gather more expert academic opinion(s)?
It is possible to ask universities, research centers and experts to evaluate BOAE technology developed by Limenet.
Here are the references:
Politecnico di Milano
With them, Limenet founder (Giovanni Cappello) has also published and reviewed different scientific papers: https://limenet.tech/en/scientific-papers/
With the following research group (5,6,7), Limenet has brainstormed ideas and thoughts about the BOAE approach for future research together. They know Limenet and Italian research groups and the BOAE approach; hence, you can ask them for opinions or references.
Geomar
Limenet also has institutional stakeholders. In particular, EuLA (European Lime Association). With them, Limenet wants to make recognition by the EU ETS directive, calcium bicarbonate as permanent storage.
Eula
Aither would like emphasize again the importance of transparency and to address all the questions from the community regarding our proposal for new technology. All the community and experts must be convinced before making any decisions.
Aither had a long call with many KlimaDAO contributors and members, and here we can summarize further questions and answers that we’ve received.
How can you justify the purchase of these newer, less adopted, and therefore riskier credits?
Some people expressed uncertainty and concerns about moving forward with the RFC due to lack of experience in a new market. There are worries about unknowns, questions from potential buyers, downward price pressure as the tech scales, and the success of the venture. Liam emphasizes that while he is not negative about it, he wants to address his anxiety.
Aither highlights the importance of addressing buyer questions as they arise and being prepared to provide answers and continuous support. He also shares an example of another carbon removal company and their high costs.(EBB Carbon)
Aither discusses the price decrease and financing options for ocean alkalinity units. He mentions that while the process is energy-intensive and costly, it can be scalable through modular approaches.
He also compares LimeNet's position, which has already gone through the pilot phase, to other carbon capture technologies. Jacopo emphasizes that steep decreases in prices do not guarantee delivery of tons and highlights the need for a reputable registry or blockchain technology to certify removed tons. He suggests partnering with Klima and C3 to create a tradable market for carbon capture credits. This is a tremendous opportunity for all parties involved.
How will these credits be traded in the market?
They will be tokenized via QC3.
From an end-user perspective, we emphasize the importance of including various types of carbon credits in a portfolio for carbon neutrality strategies.
Buyers are requesting mixed portfolios with different types of carbon credits, and we stress the value of a diversified approach.
Blockchain is, in fact, an instrument that can enable transparency and you know, certifying removed tons. C3 and Klima can help with that. And I also think that ecosystem was at the forefront tokenizing tons and it also enables the first tradable instrument
Up until now there are no DAC, tradable instruments.
There is a removal of tradable instruments, which we can include in forestation projects or buy a chart projects which do release I'm thinking, Pre-orders of the corks and so on, but there's no direct air carbon capture credits, which are being traded around right. In this case, Ocean alkalinity or ccus or CCs plus credits being traded to traded around.
How will this trading be tracked?
There is potential for collaboration between Klima, C3, and other companies to establish standards for tracking data on-chain in order to ensure transparency in carbon offset projects.
What do KlimaDAO and C3 bring to the partnership?
QC3 is perfectly positioned as a blockchain technology provider. KlimaDAO as liquidity provider. Limenet as scientific specialists and plant operators.
How will these be verified?
Drew raises questions about the verification process for carbon removal credits, which leads to a discussion of token issuance and retirement benefits. The polygon blockchain will be the de-facto registry. QC3 will be the tokenizer.
Are there technological concerns when this project increases its scale?
Potential pushback regarding geoengineering is mentioned, particularly in relation to coastal marine areas and transportation logistics. The co-benefits of enhancing ocean capabilities for capturing CO2 are highlighted compared to other technologies like direct carbon capture or biochar.
Considerations about potential negative effects on shellfish growth due to partial CO2 release are brought up as well as solutions involving equatorial aqua systems and municipal waste water purifiers. Marcus Aurelius mentions reviewing scientific research on the potential impact and complexity that may limit scaling initially.
What similar projects exist on the market?
So there's also very little pure comparison that can be done. I have one that I can share with you now but Of course, it's, you know, we're at a stage where it's a new technology. (EBB Carbon)
How long is the environmental benefit? Is it like biochar? Is it a hundred years, 500 years, or something?
Yes, it's more than 10,000 years but it's uncertain if it can go up to a hundred thousand years. The truth is that there's no studies as you can imagine. So regarding that time frame, we can certainly say it’s greater than 10,000 years but the scientific articles that I shared by the way can not certainly guarantee that the 98,000 year benchmark is absolutely accurate. Over 10,000 years, under 100,000 years, around 98,000 but can only confirm
So there's a number of studies where they try to accelerate the composition of the effects into salt water. And this of course, and again, we're talking about simulations. They go from a minimum of 10,000 years up to close with a hundred thousand. We're closer to 98 if you read the articles 98,000 years but again, these are simulations. What we're sure of is that it's north of 10,000 years. That's that, yes, because it's a normal geological cycle that you're basically recreating. So, we're safe for 10,000 years. We wouldn't feel comfortable saying more than 10,000 years to be extremely honest.
Is this a one-off purchase between a buyer and a broker, or the start of a long-term partnership?
This is the beginning of a long-term partnership.
Aither will provide continuous support through the process, including education on scientific and carbon-market aspects, client outreach to ensure a seamless experience, and strategies for continuous growth. Support from Limenet will also be ongoing, along with continuous assistance from C3 and KlimaDAO through the blockchain tokenization process.
How does Limenet’s solution compare to other options like DAC?
What we liked at Aither about this technology, compared to others that I've seen, is the fact that we're hitting on the largest carbon sink that we have on our planet.
So, basically storing carbon there and all that, while enhancing the ocean capability to capture more CO2, to us, is literally two birds with one stone. And that was why we were attracted to this type of technology more than I was to others. These types of technology have a plus compared to others.
It enhances a natural process while the others are pure tech-based technologies.
Being a first mover has advantages, but it also has risks. How are we approaching these?
There are two things. KLIMA being the first to buy gives a strong signal to the other buyers, which will come for the next ones. This also means that KLIMA is the first believers in it.
Second, not being a secondary market, it'll happen on Carbonmark for the first time, and it'll be an advantage for carbonmark too.
When the interest of this product will spark, the first platform will be carbonmark.
It also shows that KLIMA is attracting other innovators in the climate finance space to build the the carbon market of tomorrow.
We are available for more information and answers to more questions that will come