Vycarb is developing a first-of-its-kind technology to generate fully measured marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) for improved safety, efficacy, and transparency of mCDR at scale.
Vycarb’s sensing technology measures the entire dissolved inorganic carbon system directly, autonomously, and in real time. This is used in an mCDR deployment system to optimize and verify the conversion of carbon dioxide into stable, dissolved carbon molecules through the controlled addition of dissolved elements like calcium in a closed system. Altogether, Vycarb’s system measures water’s natural carbon cycle to detect excess CO₂, converts that CO₂ to stable carbon like bicarbonate and carbonate ions, and measures the resulting change in water carbon chemistry to demonstrate mCDR efficacy and safety.
Enhancing the ocean’s ability to store carbon is an exciting prospect for mitigating climate change. However, the ocean’s carbon cycle is dynamic, heterogeneous, and already altered, making the effectiveness of mCDR uncertain, and introducing the potential for a wide range of unintended consequences. Vycarb’s technology quantifies key carbon cycle components before, during, and after the mCDR processes to support safer, more effective, and more trusted mCDR at scale.
The ability to successfully measure and safely deploy mCDR necessitates careful and iterative testing. Yet the rate at which climate solutions are needed requires rapid scaling. Ocean Visions’ scientific advisory network across ocean and climate sectors can help strike the balance between scientific rigor and deployment speed. By providing expertise in areas such as robust sensor hardware development and ocean engineering, Ocean Visions will help to advance critical technology that may help to stabilize the climate and restore the ocean.
Tom is a software engineer with an Earth sciences educational background. He is a member of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Standards Committee and participates in efforts to develop best practices for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal and monitoring applications. He currently works at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, developing applications for autonomous underwater, surface, and aerial vehicles, moorings and other sensor platforms. He has extensive experience developing software and standards to acquire, log and telemeter sensor data. Proficient in C++, Python, and Java.