New Covalent Platform Sets Industry High Standard for Forward Carbon Removal Credits

Projects on the platform ensure at least 1,000 years of permanence and independent validation.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Climate technology startup Covalent announced today the first forward-crediting platform for carbon removal (CDR) projects that ensure at least 1,000 years of permanence, connecting innovators with new financing. The independent validation of forward credits accelerates early-stage CDR projects working to quickly scale climate change solutions. The announcement, made at Carbon Unbound Europe, launches a new era of trust for the carbon removal industry.

"This platform gives us the tools to make a real impact in the fight against climate change," said Covalent's CEO and Co-Founder Onur Eren. "By connecting CDR projects with project financing, Covalent accelerates the scaling of the carbon removal industry."

Following the launch, nearly 1 million forward carbon removal credits were issued on the platform by Carbon Limit, a Florida-based firm that creates CaptureCrete, a cement additive enabling concrete to actively absorb carbon dioxide (CO2).

"Covalent is taking bold steps to help early-stage CDR businesses, including mine," said Carbon Limit CEO Tim Sperry. "We are literally paving the way for more widespread, more effective carbon removal from one of the world's most pervasive sources of CO2, with the help of Covalent and its forward crediting platform."

Carbon Limit, the inaugural project on the Covalent platform, demonstrates Covalent's unified crediting framework, which will expand the number of CDR projects – from proof-of-concept to large-scale carbon sequestration – around the world. Additional projects being considered for the platform include direct air capture (DAC), enhanced weathering/CO2 mineralization and ocean alkalinity enhancement.

As a first-mover in the fast-growing carbon removal market, Covalent's Certification Standard – adopted by Bureau Veritas, a world-leader in independent testing, inspection and certification services – requires a minimum permanence of 1,000 years, limits carbon leakage to no more than 0.1 percent, and enforces remediation should it be needed. Credits are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent, enabling buyers to offset their own contribution to global warming.

"Climate change is not a legacy we wish to leave behind for future generations," said Covalent's COO and Co-Founder Göker Avci. "Our platform ensures intergenerational equity by finding ways to scale permanent CDR, and it can only be ensured by storing CO2 permanently."

SOURCE Covalent