XPRIZE and World Ocean Council Collaborate to Advance Ocean CO2 Removal

World Ocean Council and XPRIZE co-hosted a webinar last week on how ocean CO₂ removal (CDR) projects can compete in the XPRIZE $100-million Carbon Removal Competition. The XPRIZE Carbon Removal team outlined requirements of the competition and participated in a Q&A with ocean entrepreneurs.

“Our objective is to try and inspire as many shapes and sizes of carbon dioxide removal technology that we can,” said XPRIZE Technical Lead Michael Leitch.

The application process involves building a working demonstration, making a case for a project’s scalability, and providing a scaled-up calculation of cost, which is the final piece that judges consider. “If teams have stepped over the first two barriers and proven to the judges that the technology works and that it’s scalable, then the solutions are going to be ranked by cost in selection of the ultimate winners,” explained Mr. Leitch.

During the webinar, CEO Paul Holthus spoke on WOC’s efforts to ensure that ocean CDR efforts to sequester CO₂, and their potential effects on surrounding ecosystems, are measured: “We’re at the stage of both catalyzing a business association for the ocean CO₂ removal community, and also very soon to begin convening a working group on the monitoring, reporting, verification technologies and protocols that need to be developed to support the XRPIZE process and its winners — but also that broader community and effort of ocean carbon dioxide removal.”

Watch the webinar here.