Running Tide is in development and refinement of an Ocean Carbon Removal system that can restore ocean health while maintaining a negative emissions supply chain.
by Max Chalfin — Chief Technology Officer at Running Tide
Iceland-based ocean health company, Running Tide, has announced a new agreement with Microsoft that makes it the technology company’s first open ocean-based carbon removal supplier. Running Tide plans to remove the equivalent of 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) over the next two years on behalf of Microsoft. It uses breakthrough technology that accelerates the ocean’s ability to naturally remove CO₂, sinking it to the deep ocean in a safe and permanent form. This agreement also includes innovations to ensure effective measurement, reporting, and verification.
Running Tide is in ongoing development and refinement of an Ocean Carbon Removal (CDR) system that can amplify and verify multiple natural carbon removal pathways to restore ocean health while maintaining a negative emissions supply chain. This vital intervention is designed to remove carbon from the fast carbon cycle back to the slow carbon cycle and eventually to restore ocean health at scale.
The ocean is complex and constantly in flux. With this in mind, Running Tide’s multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers, in concert with an independent Scientific Advisory board and external partners, have developed a Research Roadmap that will enable Running Tide to responsibly and positively deploy and scale their interventions.
Running Tide key research areas
Running Tide’s key research areas include but are not limited to:
- Ecological perturbations of organic carbon sinking and environmental impacts of the platform
- The potential, impact, and most effective methods for open ocean algae cultivation
- The potential impact of algae cultivation on phytoplankton nutrient availability and pelagic nutrient competition
- Systems and methods of surface ocean alkalinity enhancement
- Ocean transport, distribution, and sinking of free-floating carbon buoys, as well as impact on surface waters
Running Tide has already completed several research programs, and has additional ongoing programs, programs in planning stages, and programs currently underway, which include:
- Replicated experiments in coastal and shallow waters
- Laboratory based study of carbon buoys, macroalgae behavior, and alkaline material delivery
- Replicated pilot-scale experiments in the open ocean
- Replicated deep-sea benthic experiments on the abyssal plain
In the News…
New industry reports highlight growth of spirulina producers and products.
“The global spirulina market has evolved in surprising ways over the past 40 years”, says Robert Henrikson, founder of Spirulina Source and algae industry pioneer since the 1970s.
“About 50 medium and large farms dominate production of spirulina powder and blue phycocyanin extract,” he says. “Large Chinese farms produce over 70% of the world supply, about 75% is for the large Chinese market, and 25% exported. Meanwhile, small enterprises have proliferated around the world and drive product innovation. More than 550 small micro-producers sell their dried, fresh and frozen spirulina in supplements, foods and beverages in local and regional markets. Over 150 of these enterprises are in France alone.”
To track this activity. Spirulina Source, a resource center for spirulina algae since 1999, has built the world’s largest structured database of over 600 spirulina producers and their products. These new reports offer a visually appealing slideshow format with photos of farms, processes, and products.
The first three regional market reports: China, Africa, and Latin America are available now.
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