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DAC+S certification methodology validated by DNV – developed and implemented by Climeworks and Carbfix as partners for permanent carbon removal

24 January 2023

● Climeworks and Carbfix developed the world's first full-chain certification methodology dedicated to carbon dioxide removal via direct air capture and underground mineralization storage. This methodology has been validated by the independent quality and assurance leader DNV.

● It provides the requirements for stringent standards by which measurement and reporting of Climeworks' carbon dioxide removal and Carbfix‘s permanent mineralization can be third-party verified.

● With this methodology, Climeworks and Carbfix aim to contribute to the standardization and scale-up of high-quality, permanent removals.

A robust assessment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods is needed to provide high-quality services to private and corporate customers, as well as to make contributions toward a carbon market that is regulated and better understood.

Climeworks, Carbfix, and DNV have partnered to develop the world’s first full-chain certification methodology dedicated to CDR via direct air capture (DAC) and underground mineralization storage. The methodology has been validated in line with ISO 14064-2 and verifies the integrity of Climeworks’ CDR, thus enabling the delivery of certified CDR, and leading industry action with high environmental integrity.

The two modular methodologies focusing on 1) DAC, and 2) storage through permanent underground mineralization provide the requirements for stringent standards by which measurement and reporting of Climeworks’ CDR and Carbfix‘s permanent mineralization
can be third-party verified and communicated to customers. With these much-needed methodologies, Climeworks and Carbfix aim to contribute to the standardization and scale-up of high-quality, permanent removals.

The methodologies set criteria for high environmental integrity CDR and take a rigorous stance on safeguarding quality. They were validated by DNV, a global leader in quality assurance, by advising on the principles of methodology development and ensuring robustness and accuracy of the approach.

DNV then conducted an onsite audit, where a review of documentation, interviews with staff, and site inspection verified that Climeworks is producing CDR, and Carbfix is mineralizing CO2 underground, in accordance with those methodologies.

DNV concluded the audit by certifying Climeworks’ CDR via Climeworks’ DAC and Carbfix’s mineral storage technologies, to be:

● Reported accurately, avoiding any chance of double counting or inclusion of removals that cannot be supported by measured data,
● Measured accurately and reflecting the net emissions removed after adjusting for emissions resulting from plant construction, operation, and disposal in compliance with ISO 14064-2 Standards,
● Strict, transparent, and accountable to the monitoring procedure in place to detect any involuntary release of CO2 and changes within the storage reservoir that may risk the permanence of CO2 storage.

Climeworks and Carbfix are proud to have developed and implemented the first full-chain certification methodology for CDR via DAC+S, in close consultation with and validated by DNV.

Climeworks welcomes public and industry experts to contribute to the conversation about high-quality standards by reviewing and commenting on the validated methodologies at certification@climeworks.com

Today, we are happy to share the first full-chain methodology to measure, report and verify CDR produced via DAC+S. We aim for our contribution to lead the way to the industry-wide application of high standards. On the road to gigaton capacity by 2050, it is critical to ensure the robustness and transparent verification of CDR.

Christoph Gebald, co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks

Together with our CO2 storage partner Carbfix, we have developed a methodology to certify CDR that meets the highest standards. By setting this unique precedent in the DAC industry, we want to push for standards towards higher integrity. The release of the first full-chain methodology for CDR produced via DAC+S represents a major milestone, made possible by the real-world learnings from our Orca plant.

Jan Wurzbacher, co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks

Climate action and policy are only as effective as the rigor with which the implemented solutions are measured, reported, and verified towards climate goals. Certification is an essential step to allow DAC+S to enter carbon markets. It allows our technology to become even more actionable as a climate solution, opening the door for new considerations beyond the voluntary market. I see here a tremendous opportunity not only for Climeworks but for the whole DAC industry to strengthen its voice in the policy sphere.

Christoph Beuttler, Chief Climate Policy Officer at Climeworks

About Climeworks

Climeworks empowers people and companies to fight global warming by offering carbon dioxide removal as a service via direct air capture (DAC) technology. At Orca, Climeworks’ DAC facility in Iceland, the CO2 is permanently removed from the air by capturing and geologically storing it for thousands of years with Climeworks’ storage partner Carbfix. Climeworks’ DAC facilities run exclusively on clean energy, and our modular CO2 collectors can be stacked to build machines of any capacity.

Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher in 2009, Climeworks is on a journey to climate impact at scale. To do so, we strive to inspire 1 billion people to act and remove CO2 from the air. Climeworks is spear-heading the DAC industry globally, with the world’s largest DAC facility and storage installation in operation and a team of 300 Climeworkers determined to contribute to a net-zero future. Our growing customer base includes over 160 companies, including multinationals such as Microsoft, BCG, UBS or Swiss Re, as well as more than 18,000 individual Climate Pioneers.

For more information, please reach out to Climeworks' media team:

Media Team

Judith Hebekeuser

Press Manager at Climeworks

Claudia Garcia

Press & Events Specialist at Climeworks

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