Arca, a leader in carbon mineralisation technology, has announced the successful validation by DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, of its methodology for permanent carbon removal.
This validation, Arca says, marks a significant milestone in the emerging Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) industry, as it is the first time a mineralisation methodology focusing on enhanced air capture and ex-situ mineralisation within ultramafic mine tailings has received such recognition.
Arca’s technology repurposes mine waste for large-scale carbon removal, accelerating the natural geochemical process that transforms atmospheric CO2 into stable carbonate minerals, the company explains. It announced recently that it was partnering with Wyloo and a gold producer in Western Australia to assess carbon removal opportunities at their mining operations, using existing tailings streams to capture and store atmospheric CO2.
Amid rising climate concerns and the increasing demand for high-quality carbon dioxide removal options, robust validation and verification processes are critical, Arca says. Arca’s methodology has been validated as compliant with ISO 14064-2, setting a high standard for carbon removal practices at mine sites. This validation serves as an important signal to the mining industry, demonstrating that carbon removal efforts can be unambiguously verified according to ISO standards that carry broad societal legitimacy, it added.
DNV was commissioned by Arca to provide an independent third-party validation of the methodology. The review process included an examination of the presented methodology, project design documentation and follow-up interviews, which provided DNV with sufficient evidence to determine the fulfillment of the stated criteria, Arca explained.
Lucy Craig, Senior Vice President and Director of Growth, Innovation and Digitalisation, Energy Systems at DNV, said: “Arca’s validation sets a new benchmark in the CDR industry, proving that innovative methodologies like enhanced air capture and ex-situ mineralisation can achieve ISO 14064-2 compliance. To ensure we reduce carbon emissions we need to adopt a variety of methods and this milestone not only underscores the potential for gigatonne-scale CO2 removal but also highlights a major opportunity for the mining industry to contribute to a sustainable future.”
Arca believes scaling high-quality durable carbon removal requires independent third-party protocols and registries. It invested in the development of this ISO-validated methodology to support the essential work of independent carbon registries. Arca will leverage its methodology to help inform the development of new formal protocols for industrial-scale carbon removal, it explained.
Dr Greg Dipple, Arca’s Head of Science and co-founder, said: “Our patent-pending technology removes atmospheric CO2 safely and permanently and has gigatonne-scale potential. Our work pioneers an important new pathway for carbon removal, a multibillion-dollar opportunity for the mining industry, with the legitimacy of ISO validation.”