Today Isometric published the world’s first full Protocol for an innovative method of permanent carbon removal: bio-oil geological storage. The Protocol was created by our in-house Science Team in collaboration with our independent network of over 200 climate scientists. As part of Isometric’s commitment to transparency, the Protocol is now undergoing a full public consultation before it is finalized and used for credit issuance.
This Protocol has been developed in line with our recently published Isometric Standard, which is the world’s most stringent set of rules for carbon removal. This includes the highest bar in the market for the comprehensiveness of its monitoring programme. For example, gas readings at the site of injection are analyzed and tested every six months to provide assurance that the carbon that was put underground, stays underground.
The first project developer for this new bio-oil geological storage Protocol is Charm Industrial. Charm is the world’s leading developer of the bio-oil geological storage process.
The bio-oil storage process involves gathering waste biomass and converting it into a stable, carbon-rich liquid that is pumped deep underground. Materials (such as the corn stalks after harvest or forestry trimmings that prevent wildfires) are heated in a low oxygen environment until they become a bio-oil, which is then injected into decommissioned oil wells and other similar environments. Through this process, the carbon originally captured from the atmosphere by plants is stored away permanently. It can be thought of as running fossil fuel extraction in reverse.
Shopify has been a leading supporter of durable carbon removal. Their trailblazing purchase of $2 million worth of carbon removal signed with Charm Industrial in 2021 will be the first order ever verified against this new protocol.
This is just the start.
We'll publish groundbreaking Protocols for three other innovative carbon removal methods in the coming months: enhanced rock weathering, direct air capture, and ocean alkalinity enhancement. All of these are being developed in line with the stringent Isometric Standard. This ensures that any carbon credit issued against these Protocols represents a genuine tonne of carbon dioxide removed permanently from the atmosphere. The scientific processes underpinning each credit are shared on Isometric’s platform so the scientific community and wider public can verify this for themselves.
This Protocol, and the ones to follow, represents a critical step towards rebuilding trust in carbon markets. This marks a new era for the industry, where credits are grounded in scientific rigor and buyers can purchase with confidence.
This was what Isometric was founded to do. Only then can carbon removal scale to the level that the planet needs to limit—and ultimately reverse—global temperature increases.
Cover image by Glenn Carstens-Peters
