Ebb Carbon is a team of leading scientists, engineers, and seasoned climate tech entrepreneurs working to unlock the power of the ocean to solve climate change. Ebb’s approach reduces ocean acidity and restores ocean chemistry—helping to heal the ocean while cleaning up the atmosphere.
Ebb Carbon’s proprietary electrochemical system uses low carbon electricity to separate salty water into acid (hydrochloric acid) and base (sodium hydroxide) solutions. The basic solution (sodium hydroxide – NaOH) is returned to the ocean, enhancing the ocean’s ability to draw down more atmospheric CO₂ and safely store it as bicarbonate. The acidic solution is prevented from returning to the ocean. Sensors and software control how much acid is separated and how much base is returned to the ocean, to verify the amount of CO₂ drawdown and bicarbonate produced.
By harnessing the ocean’s natural process for storing CO₂, the Ebb Carbon system can be less energy-intensive and lower cost at-scale than comparable forms of carbon removal. Additionally, the process reduces ocean acidity and provides a low-carbon, low-cost source of hydrochloric acid that can be used for a range of existing industrial purposes.
A primary challenge is a better understanding of ideal system siting locations, which will involve identifying coastal industrial plants that process seawater and use hydrochloric acid—such as desalination plants, which turn saltwater into drinking water.
Assistant Scientist and Principal Investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Professor of Marine Chemistry at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
Heather Kim is an Assistant Scientist and a principal investigator of Biogeochemical Modeling Laboratory at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). She received her Ph.D. in 2017 from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University. Her research aims to understand the impact and feedback of marine microbial and biogeochemical processes on the Earth’s climate system by developing mechanistic and data-driven models. Current research topics in her laboratory include the quantification of microbial control on the biological carbon pump, biogeochemical feedback on air-sea carbon dioxide fluxes, and biophysical interactions and coupling in polar oceans, and modeling the risk and efficacy of ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) methods. She is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-WHOI Joint Program faculty teaching a numerical modeling course.
Todd Martz is a professor of marine chemistry at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. His research focuses on exploring new methods and technologies for measuring dissolved carbon dioxide in the ocean and adapting these techniques for use on autonomous instrumentation. Prof. Martz has contributed to the development of several widely used ocean sensor technologies including the SeaFET, SeapHOx, Deep-Sea Durafet.