Latest news with #Pallas
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
The day-long showcase for top-class Scottish prog rock
Headlining the Wha's Like Us one-day event will be Comedy of Errors, pictured, top a bill that also includes The Wizards of Progg, Long Earth and EBB. The Wizards of Progg released their debut album, Dooking for Apples, only last year despite being able to trace their roots back to the seventies. Long Earth's third album, An Ordinary Life, was released in 2024. EBB have twice received 'best new band' accolades, while [[Comedy]] of Errors, whose first gig was in 1984, are poised to release their seventh album. A fifth band, Machinary, has had to withdraw: their slot will be taken by Alan Reed, frontman of the celebrated prog group, Pallas. He will be accompanied on at least two songs by Machinary's singer Euan Lowson, Alan's predecessor in Pallas. Euan said: 'I believe the plan is that I will be singing 'Shock Treatment' and 'Arrive Alive', from my time with Pallas, with Alan. These were the two songs that Machinary had planned to include with Alan as a special guest before our unfortunate withdrawal'. Plans for the festival began to take shape late last year, after an story in the prog fans' Facebook community, BedsideYellowFoam, in which Long Earth discussed the difficulties of Scots prog bands in relation to London and the south. Béla Alabástrom, manager of Comedy of Errors, who also co-runs the Facebook page, suggested staging a Scots prog festival, and the Wizards of Progg's founder, Charlie Kilgour, began putting together the bill. Bela, the festival's co-organiser, said: 'Scottish bands suffer from what I refer to as the 'geographical penalty'. Prog's heartland is in the south of England and this is where most festivals are held. It is also where most resources are concentrated. In the past, bands had to travel to London to secure a record deal. Now they have to incur huge losses to travel down to play at festivals. "I recently applied to one festival down south on behalf of a band. The organisers explicitly asked in the questionnaire if the bands applying would be willing to waive their fee and whether they required expenses. Basically, if a band ticks the box that they require expenses, the implication is that this will count against them. It seems to be taken for granted that obtaining a slot at a festival is recompense enough. Another question was: what can you offer the festival by way of publicity? 'In a nutshell, the bands are expected to invest substantial time and effort in publicising a festival, in engaging and mobilising their fan base and putting it at the festival's disposal, while at the same time appearing for nothing and making a loss. This automatically puts Scottish bands at a disadvantage. 'Promoters need to be more aware of the disproportionate costs for Scottish bands compared to their English counterparts. Some seem to turn a blind eye to this and expect Scottish bands to jump through those extra hoops. The sacrifices are just that much greater. 'Having said that, Scottish promoters could do a lot more to recognise and provide opportunities for the wealth of talent at home. Wha's Like Us is being organised by a fan (me) and Charlie to compensate to the extent we can for the lack of opportunities available to Scottish prog bands. 'Since I published my Facebook post, which is where the idea of the festival originated, I have been going through a crash-course in festival organisation. It's been very challenging, but also very rewarding'. Do English promoters just need to be nudged? 'The picture is quite nuanced, as several English promoters are open to booking Scottish bands. Apart from the aforementioned cost factor, which may deter them from taking Scottish bands into consideration in the first place, they may not always be aware of the bands. 'Again, this is why providing an opportunity for them to travel to Glasgow to see the bands perform is so vital. In my personal experience, they have been very open to the idea of booking more established Scottish prog bands. All they needed was a gentle nudge to convince them it would be a risk that would pay off'. Jim Johnston, keyboard player with Comedy of Errors, gives an insight into prog music's diversity. He said: 'The musical genre of prog tends to be (though not exclusively) the province of the older music fan, having its roots in bands of the early seventies, such as Yes and Genesis. 'It has to be said that some current Scottish bands have taken that prog influence and developed it to varying degrees, e.g. classical, folk, heavy rock, psychedelic. 'This gives each band an individuality maybe not seen in other genres. If the fan numbers can't match current pop trends, the fans' individual passion for this music more than makes up for it. 'Regionally, the south has been more the last bastion of prog (a form of music that fiercely fell out of favour in the late seventies). On the other hand, Scottish prog bands have suffered because of their relatively remote home location and the difficulty of Southern promoters in paying Scottish bands to travel south, book hotels and perform in venues which are so often far more convenient for bands from the south'. He added, however, that there has been a recent revival in Scotland, especially among the more mature fans, with 'a willingness to seek out local prog bands, meet up with and make new like-minded friends at gigs, and to buy and enjoy self-produced CDs and vinyl at these gigs – and not just tribute bands, but original bands with their own take on the genre, producing original material. 'What has brought on this revival? It is likely that social media has brought fans together – 'I'm not alone after all!' – so that now they are more aware of local gigs and self-financed album releases. 'It can also be surprising how many make the trip from Europe to see these peculiarly Scottish prog gigs. A chance to meet up with members of this 'club' has given those who feel excluded from contemporary musical trends the chance to enjoy the music they are most passionate about. The Scottish bands who make this generally more complex, ambitious type of music need no longer apologise in their own country for the previously outlawed four-letter word of 'prog'. For his part, Alan Reed, of Pallas, said: 'It's really important to provide a regular platform for musicians. In these cost-conscious times there needs to be a regular gig north of the border. 'It costs so much to travel with a band these days that it amazes me that there isn't already a festival that supports this kind of music. There are a lot of venues in, for example, Glasgow that are relatively easy for tribute acts to get booked into'. He added: 'I think promoters need to be aware that there is still an appetite for good bands playing their own music too. Both Lazuli (ex France) and RPWL (Germany) did good numbers on recent gigs that I attended. And both of those bands are as Prog as they come. 'In England and Wales they have Winter's End/Summer's End in Chepstow, they have regular spots in Leamington, Leicestershire, London, Southampton and other places. Why, given the undoubted talent you have in Scotland. don't you have more than just the occasional support for the same few acts?' Alan said: 'I'd very much like Wha's Like Us to become a regular event. That way you'll see more bands coming through. And they won't have to travel so far to make a name for themselves'. He regretted that Euan's band Machinary have had to withdraw. 'I would have very much liked to see him and them perform. Not least because his keyboards player, Hew Montgomery, was part of Abel Ganz, the band that I left to join Pallas. It would be like I've come full circle'. Read more: Alan was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the end of March and will be embarking on an epic journey, walking the West Highland Way, beginning in mid-September, to raise funds for research into the disease. He will be doing the walk with his partner Anne, his long-time musical partner, Mark Spencer, and his partner Esther. Euan Lowson, who sang with Pallas between 1979 and 1986, and was part of the line-up that made such well-received albums as The Sentinel, observed that Scottish bands in general need to voyage South for gigs that get any worthwhile media attention and crowds. 'Whilst money is not the driver for gigging, these are financially unviable for most bands. I particularly feel for young up-and-coming musicians as these sojourns usually incur large financial losses. Not just for 'prog' bands – it has always been an issue for Scottish bands to get any traction in the music industry unless they have 'serious' contacts or are prepared to relocate. The music industry still is very London-centric. 'It does have to be said that prog fans are very loyal and determined', he added. 'There have been many tickets bought from our European fans who are travelling to, and spending time in, Scotland for this event'. * Tickets: £29 (advance), £32 on the door. Wha's Like Us can be found on Facebook.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
An Israeli startup says its new technology will save the planet, scientists have doubts
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills The startup Gigablue announced with fanfare this year that it reached a historic milestone: selling 200,000 carbon credits to fund what it describes as a groundbreaking technology in the fight against climate three years ago by a group of entrepreneurs in Israel, the company says it has designed particles that when released in the ocean will trcarbon at the bottom of the sea. By "harnessing the power of nature," Gigablue says, its work will do nothing less than save the outside scientists frustrated by the lack of information released by the company say serious questions remain about whether Gigablue's technology works as the company describes. Their questions showcase tensions in an industry built on little regulation and big promises - and a tantalizing chance to Pallas, an event organizer based in Italy, struck a deal with Gigablue last year. He said he trusts the company does what it has promised him - ensuring the transportation, meals, and electricity of a recent 1,000-person event will be offset by particles in the service is like "an extra trash can" where Pallas can discard his unwanted emissions, he said."Same way I use my trash can - I don't follow where the truck that comes and picks up my trash brings it to," he said. "I'll take their word for it."'Hundreds of thousands of carbon credits' Gigablue has a grand vision for the future of carbon removal. It was originally named "Gigaton" after the one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide most scientists say will be necessary to remove from the atmosphere each year to slow global company began trials in the South Pacific Ocean last year, and says it will work with country authorities to create a "sequestration field" - a dedicated part of the ocean where "pulses" of particles will be released on a seasonal says its solution is affordable, too - priced to attract investors."Every time we go to the ocean, we generate hundreds of thousands of carbon credits, and this is what we're going to do continuously over the upcoming years and towards the future, in greater and greater quantities," co-founder Ori Shaashua credits, which have grown in popularity over the last decade, are tokens that symbolize the removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On paper, companies that buy credits achieve a smaller carbon footprint without needing to reduce their own emissions - for instance, by paying another vendor to plant trees or capture carbon dioxide from the a few countries have required local industries to purchase carbon credits. Most companies that buy them, including Microsoft and Google, do so credits have helped fund a band of startups like Gigablue that are eager to tackle the climate crisis, but they are also unevenly regulated, scientifically complex, and have in some cases been linked to 200,000 credits are pledged to SkiesFifty, a newly formed company investing in greener practices for the aviation industry. It's the largest sale to date for a climate startup operating in the ocean, according to the tracking site making up more than half of all ocean-based carbon credits sold last it could beckon a rapid acceleration of the company's work. Gigablue hopes to reach a goal this year of capturing 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide for each ton of particles it deploys, Shaashua said. At that rate, Gigablue would disperse at least 20,000 tons of particles in the wouldn't reveal what it earned in the sale, and SkiesFifty's team declined to be interviewed for this story. Most credits are sold for a few hundred dollars each - but a chart on Gigablue's website suggests its prices are lower than almost any other form of carbon capture on the market.A mission to save the world The startup is the brainchild of four entrepreneurs hailing from the tech industry. According to their LinkedIn profiles, Gigablue's CEO previously worked for an online grocery startup, while its COO was vice president of SeeTree, a company that raised $60 million to provide farmers with information on their who often serves as the face of Gigablue, said he specializes in using artificial intelligence to pursue positive outcomes in the world. He co-founded a data mining company that tracked exposure risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and led an auto startup that brokered data on car mileage and traffic patterns."Three years ago, I decided to take the same formula, so to say, to climate," Shaashua his guidance, he said, Gigablue created an AI-driven "digital twin" of the ocean based on dozens of metrics to determine where to release the technology officer Sapir Markus-Alford earned a bachelor's degree in earth and environmental sciences from Israel's Ben-Gurion University in 2021, shortly before founding said she began her studies and eventual path to Gigablue after seeing bleached coral reefs and other impacts of warming waters on a series of diving trips around the world."I understood that the best thing we could do for the ocean is to be able to remove CO2," Markus-Alford said.A spokesperson for Gigablue did not answer whether the other co-founders have graduate degrees in oceanography or environmental science, but said the company's broader team holds a total of 46 Ph.D.s with expertise in biology, chemistry, oceanography, and environmental science. Markus-Alford said that figure includes outside experts and academics and "everyone that supports us."The company's staffing has expanded from Israel to hubs in New York and New Zealand , Shaashua social media posts advertising open jobs, Gigablue employees encouraged applicants to "Join Our Mission to Save the World!"Trapping carbon at the bottom of the ocean The particles Gigablue has patented are meant to capture carbon in the ocean by floating for a number of days and growing tiny algae , before sinking rapidly to the ocean floor."We are an elevator for carbon," Shaashua said. "We are exporting the carbon from the top to the bottom."Algae - sometimes referred to as phytoplankton - has long been attractive to climate scientists because it absorbs carbon dioxide from the surrounding water as it grows. If the algae sinks to the deep sea or ocean floor, Gigablue expects the carbon to be trapped there for hundreds to thousands of ultimate goal is to lower carbon dioxide levels so drastically that the ocean rebalances with the atmosphere by soaking up more CO2 from the air. It's a feat that would help slow climate change, but one that is still under active study by climate founders have said the company's work is inspired by nature and "very, very environmentally safe." The company's particles and sinking methods simply recreate what nature has been doing "since forever," Shaashua ran its first trial sinking particles in the Mediterranean in March last on two voyages to the South Pacific, the company released 60 cubic meters - about two shipping containers - of particles off the coast of New kept a mystery While Gigablue has made several commercial deals, it has not yet revealed what its particles are made of. Partly this is because the company says it will build different particles tailored to different seasons and areas of the ocean."It's proprietary," Markus-Alford provide a window into the possible ingredients. According to information on the permit, Gigablue's first New Zealand trial last year involved releasing particles of pure vermiculite, a porous clay often used in potting the second New Zealand trial, the company released particles made of vermiculite, ground rock, a plant-based wax, as well as manganese and iron.A patent published last year hints the particles could also be made of scores of other materials, including cotton, rice husks or jute, as well as synthetic ingredients like polyester fibers or lint. The particles contain a range of possible binding agents, and up to 18 different chemicals and metals, from iron to nickel to specifying future designs, Markus-Alford said Gigablue's particles meet certain requirements: "All the materials we use are materials that are natural, nontoxic, nonhazardous, and can be found in the ocean," she said. She wouldn't comment on the possible use of cotton or rice, but said the particles won't include any kind of asked about vermiculite, which is typically mined on land and heated to expand, Markus-Alford said rivers and erosion transport most materials including vermiculite to the ocean. "Almost everything, basically, that exists on land can be found in the ocean," she company said it had commissioned an environmental institute to verify that the particles are safe for thousands of organisms, including mussels and oysters. Any materials in future particles, Gigablue said, will be approved by local has said the particles are so benign that they have zero impact on the ocean."We are not changing the water chemistry or the water biology," Shaashua Buesseler , a senior scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has spent decades studying the biological carbon cycle of the ocean, says that while he's intrigued by Gigablue's proposal, the idea that the particles don't alter the ocean is "almost inconceivable.""There has to be a relationship between what they're putting in the ocean and the carbon dioxide that's dissolved in seawater for this to, quote, work," Buesseler co-leads a nonprofit group of scientists hoping to tap the power of algae in the ocean to capture carbon. The group organizes regular forums on the subject, and Gigablue presented in April."I left with more questions than answers," Buesseler raise questions Several scientists not affiliated with Gigablue interviewed by The Associated Press said they were interested in how a company with so little public information about its technology could secure a deal for 200,000 carbon success of the company's method, they said, will depend on how much algae grows on the particles, and the amount that sinks to the deep ocean. So far, Gigablue has not released any studies demonstrating those Kiorboe, a professor of ocean ecology at the Technical University of Denmark, and Philip Boyd, an oceanographer at the University of Tasmania who studies the role of algae in the Earth's carbon cycle, said they were doubtful algae would get enough sunlight to grow inside the more likely the particles would attract hungry bacteria, Kiorboe said."Typical phytoplankton do not grow on surfaces, and they do not colonize particles," Kiorboe said. "To most phytoplankton ecologists, this would just be, I think, absurd."The rates at which Gigablue says its particles sink - up to a hundred meters (yards) per hour - might shear off algae from the particles in the quick descent, Boyd likely that some particles would also be eaten by fish - limiting the carbon capture, and raising the question of how the particles could impact marine is eager to see field results showing algae growth, and wants to see proof that Gigablue's particles cause the ocean to absorb more CO2 from the air."These are incredibly challenging issues that I don't think, certainly for the biological part, I don't think anyone on the planet has got solutions for them," he Kerry, a senior marine and climate scientist for the conservation group OceanCare and senior research fellow at Australia's James Cook University, has closely followed Gigablue's work."What we've got is a situation of a company, a startup, upfront selling large quantities of credits for a technology that is unproven," he a statement, Gigablue said that bacteria does consume the particles but the effect is minimal, and its measurements will account for any loss of algae or particles as they company noted that a major science institute in New Zealand has given Gigablue its stamp of approval. Gigablue hired the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a government-owned company, to review several drafts of its a recent letter posted to Gigablue's website, the institute's chief ocean scientist said his staff had confidence the company's work is "scientifically sound" and the proposed measurements for carbon sequestration were Gigablue's methods are deemed successful, for now, will be determined not by regulators - but by another private company.A new market is one of several companies known as registries that serve the carbon credit the lack of regulation and the potential for climate startups to overstate their impact, registries aim to verify how much carbon was really Finnish has verified more than a million carbon credits since its founding seven years ago. But most of those credits originated in land-based climate projects. Only recently has it aimed to set standards for the part, that's because marine carbon credits are some of the newest to be traded. Dozens of ocean startups have entered the industry, with credit sales catapulting from 2,000 in 2021 to more than 340,000, including Gigablue's deal, last the ocean remains a hostile and expensive place in which to operate a business or monitor research. Some ocean startups have sold credits only to fold before they could complete their work. Running Tide, a Maine-based startup aimed at removing carbon from the atmosphere by sinking wood chips and seaweed, abruptly shuttered last year despite the backing of $50 million from investors, leaving sales of about 7,000 carbon credits June, published a draft methodology that will be used to verify Gigablue's work, which it designed in consultation with Gigablue. Once finalized, Gigablue will pay the registry for each metric ton of carbon dioxide that it claims to Tikkanen, head of standards at said that although this methodology was designed with Gigablue, her team expects other startups to adopt the same approach."We hope that there will be many who can do it and that it stimulates the market," she road ahead It remains to be seen whether New Zealand officials will grant permission for the expanded "sequestration field" that Gigablue has proposed creating, or if the company will look to other Zealand's environmental authority has so far treated Gigablue's work as research - a designation that requires no formal review process or consultations with the public. The agency said in a statement that it could not comment on how it would handle a future commercial application from like many climate startups, Gigablue was involved in selling carbon credits during its research expeditions - not only inking a major deal, but smaller agreements, the Italian businessman, said he ordered 22 carbon credits from Gigablue last year to offset the emissions associated with his event in November. He said Gigablue gave them to him for free - but says he will pay for more in the sought out carbon credits because he sees the signs of climate change all around him, he says, and expects more requirements in Italy for businesses to decarbonize in coming years. He chose Gigablue because they are one of the largest suppliers: "They've got quantity," he authorities view Gigablue's growing commercial activity could matter in the context of an international treaty that has banned certain climate operations in the than a decade ago, dozens of countries including New Zealand agreed they should not allow any commercial climate endeavor that involves releasing iron in the ocean, a technique known as "iron fertilization." Only research, they said, with no prospect of economic gain should be is considered a key ingredient for spurring algae growth and was embedded in the particles that Gigablue dispersed in October in the Pacific Ocean. Several scientific papers have raised concerns that spurring iron-fueled algae blooms on a large scale would deplete important nutrients in the ocean and harm startup denies any link to iron dumping on the basis that its particles don't release iron directly into the water and don't create an uncontrolled algae bloom."We are not fertilizing the ocean," Markus-Alford said."In fact, we looked at iron fertilization as an inspiration of something to avoid," Shaashua the draft methodology that will use to verify Gigablue's work notes many of the same concerns that have been raised about iron fertilization, including disruptions to the marine food scientists who spoke with AP see a clear link between Gigablue's work and the controversial practice. "If they're using iron to stimulate phytoplankton growth," said Kerry, the OceanCare scientist, "then it is iron fertilization."For now, scientific concerns don't seem to have troubled Gigablue's buyers. The company has already planned its next research expedition in New Zealand and hopes to release more particles this fall."They mean well, and so do I," said Pallas, of his support for Gigablue. "Sooner or later, I'll catch a plane, go to New Zealand, and grab a boat to see what they've done."
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
An Israeli startup says its new technology will save the planet. Scientists have doubts
The startup Gigablue announced with fanfare this year that it reached a historic milestone: selling 200,000 carbon credits to fund what it describes as a groundbreaking technology in the fight against climate change. Formed three years ago by a group of entrepreneurs in Israel, the company says it has designed particles that when released in the ocean will trap carbon at the bottom of the sea. By 'harnessing the power of nature,' Gigablue says, its work will do nothing less than save the planet. But outside scientists frustrated by the lack of information released by the company say serious questions remain about whether Gigablue's technology works as the company describes. Their questions showcase tensions in an industry built on little regulation and big promises — and a tantalizing chance to profit. Jimmy Pallas, an event organizer based in Italy, struck a deal with Gigablue last year. He said he trusts the company does what it has promised him — ensuring the transportation, meals, and electricity of a recent 1,000-person event will be offset by particles in the ocean. Gigablue's service is like 'an extra trash can' where Pallas can discard his unwanted emissions, he said. 'Same way I use my trash can — I don't follow where the truck that comes and picks up my trash brings it to,' he said. 'I'll take their word for it.' 'Hundreds of thousands of carbon credits' Gigablue has a grand vision for the future of carbon removal. It was originally named 'Gigaton' after the one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide most scientists say will be necessary to remove from the atmosphere each year to slow global warming. The company began trials in the South Pacific Ocean last year, and says it will work with country authorities to create a 'sequestration field' — a dedicated part of the ocean where 'pulses' of particles will be released on a seasonal basis. Gigablue says its solution is affordable, too — priced to attract investors. 'Every time we go to the ocean, we generate hundreds of thousands of carbon credits, and this is what we're going to do continuously over the upcoming years and towards the future, in greater and greater quantities,' co-founder Ori Shaashua said. Carbon credits, which have grown in popularity over the last decade, are tokens that symbolize the removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On paper, companies that buy credits achieve a smaller carbon footprint without needing to reduce their own emissions — for instance, by paying another vendor to plant trees or capture carbon dioxide from the air. Only a few countries have required local industries to purchase carbon credits. Most companies that buy them, including Microsoft and Google, do so voluntarily. The credits have helped fund a band of startups like Gigablue that are eager to tackle the climate crisis, but they are also unevenly regulated, scientifically complex, and have in some cases been linked to fraud. Gigablue's 200,000 credits are pledged to SkiesFifty, a newly formed company investing in greener practices for the aviation industry. It's the largest sale to date for a climate startup operating in the ocean, according to the tracking site making up more than half of all ocean-based carbon credits sold last year. And it could beckon a rapid acceleration of the company's work. Gigablue hopes to reach a goal this year of capturing 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide for each ton of particles it deploys, Shaashua said. At that rate, Gigablue would disperse at least 20,000 tons of particles in the ocean. Gigablue wouldn't reveal what it earned in the sale, and SkiesFifty's team declined to be interviewed for this story. Most credits are sold for a few hundred dollars each — but a chart on Gigablue's website suggests its prices are lower than almost any other form of carbon capture on the market. A mission to save the world The startup is the brainchild of four entrepreneurs hailing from the tech industry. According to their LinkedIn profiles, Gigablue's CEO previously worked for an online grocery startup, while its COO was vice president of SeeTree, a company that raised $60 million to provide farmers with information on their trees. Shaashua, who often serves as the face of Gigablue, said he specializes in using artificial intelligence to pursue positive outcomes in the world. He co-founded a data mining company that tracked exposure risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and led an auto startup that brokered data on car mileage and traffic patterns. 'Three years ago, I decided to take the same formula, so to say, to climate,' Shaashua said. Under his guidance, he said, Gigablue created an AI-driven 'digital twin' of the ocean based on dozens of metrics to determine where to release the particles. Chief technology officer Sapir Markus-Alford earned a bachelor's degree in earth and environmental sciences from Israel's Ben-Gurion University in 2021, shortly before founding Gigablue. Markus-Alford said she began her studies and eventual path to Gigablue after seeing bleached coral reefs and other impacts of warming waters on a series of diving trips around the world. 'I understood that the best thing we could do for the ocean is to be able to remove CO2,' Markus-Alford said. A spokesperson for Gigablue did not answer whether the other co-founders have graduate degrees in oceanography or environmental science, but said the company's broader team holds a total of 46 Ph.D.s with expertise in biology, chemistry, oceanography, and environmental science. Markus-Alford said that figure includes outside experts and academics and 'everyone that supports us.' The company's staffing has expanded from Israel to hubs in New York and New Zealand, Shaashua said. In social media posts advertising open jobs, Gigablue employees encouraged applicants to 'Join Our Mission to Save the World!' Trapping carbon at the bottom of the ocean The particles Gigablue has patented are meant to capture carbon in the ocean by floating for a number of days and growing algae, before sinking rapidly to the ocean floor. 'We are an elevator for carbon,' Shaashua said. 'We are exporting the carbon from the top to the bottom.' Algae — sometimes referred to as phytoplankton — has long been attractive to climate scientists because it absorbs carbon dioxide from the surrounding water as it grows. If the algae sinks to the deep sea or ocean floor, Gigablue expects the carbon to be trapped there for hundreds to thousands of years. The ultimate goal is to lower carbon dioxide levels so drastically that the ocean rebalances with the atmosphere by soaking up more CO2 from the air. It's a feat that would help slow climate change, but one that is still under active study by climate scientists. Gigablue's founders have said the company's work is inspired by nature and 'very, very environmentally safe.' The company's particles and sinking methods simply recreate what nature has been doing 'since forever,' Shaashua said. Gigablue ran its first trial sinking particles in the Mediterranean in March last year. Later, on two voyages to the South Pacific, the company released 60 cubic meters — about two shipping containers — of particles off the coast of New Zealand. Materials kept a mystery While Gigablue has made several commercial deals, it has not yet revealed what its particles are made of. Partly this is because the company says it will build different particles tailored to different seasons and areas of the ocean. 'It's proprietary,' Markus-Alford said. Documents provide a window into the possible ingredients. According to information on the permit, Gigablue's first New Zealand trial last year involved releasing particles of pure vermiculite, a porous clay often used in potting soil. In the second New Zealand trial, the company released particles made of vermiculite, ground rock, a plant-based wax, as well as manganese and iron. A patent published last year hints the particles could also be made of scores of other materials, including cotton, rice husks or jute, as well as synthetic ingredients like polyester fibers or lint. The particles contain a range of possible binding agents, and up to 18 different chemicals and metals, from iron to nickel to vanadium. Without specifying future designs, Markus-Alford said Gigablue's particles meet certain requirements: 'All the materials we use are materials that are natural, nontoxic, nonhazardous, and can be found in the ocean,' she said. She wouldn't comment on the possible use of cotton or rice, but said the particles won't include any kind of plastic. When asked about vermiculite, which is typically mined on land and heated to expand, Markus-Alford said rivers and erosion transport most materials including vermiculite to the ocean. 'Almost everything, basically, that exists on land can be found in the ocean,' she said. The company said it had commissioned an environmental institute to verify that the particles are safe for thousands of organisms, including mussels and oysters. Any materials in future particles, Gigablue said, will be approved by local authorities. Shaashua has said the particles are so benign that they have zero impact on the ocean. 'We are not changing the water chemistry or the water biology,' Shaashua said. Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has spent decades studying the biological carbon cycle of the ocean, says that while he's intrigued by Gigablue's proposal, the idea that the particles don't alter the ocean is 'almost inconceivable.' 'There has to be a relationship between what they're putting in the ocean and the carbon dioxide that's dissolved in seawater for this to, quote, work,' Buesseler said. Buesseler co-leads a nonprofit group of scientists hoping to tap the power of algae in the ocean to capture carbon. The group organizes regular forums on the subject, and Gigablue presented in April. 'I left with more questions than answers,' Buesseler said. Scientists raise questions Several scientists not affiliated with Gigablue interviewed by The Associated Press said they were interested in how a company with so little public information about its technology could secure a deal for 200,000 carbon credits. The success of the company's method, they said, will depend on how much algae grows on the particles, and the amount that sinks to the deep ocean. So far, Gigablue has not released any studies demonstrating those rates. Thomas Kiørboe, a professor of ocean ecology at the Technical University of Denmark, and Philip Boyd, an oceanographer at the University of Tasmania who studies the role of algae in the Earth's carbon cycle, said they were doubtful algae would get enough sunlight to grow inside the particles. It's more likely the particles would attract hungry bacteria, Kiørboe said. 'Typical phytoplankton do not grow on surfaces, and they do not colonize particles,' Kiørboe said. 'To most phytoplankton ecologists, this would just be, I think, absurd.' The rates at which Gigablue says its particles sink — up to a hundred meters (yards) per hour — might shear off algae from the particles in the quick descent, Boyd said. It's likely that some particles would also be eaten by fish — limiting the carbon capture, and raising the question of how the particles could impact marine life. Boyd is eager to see field results showing algae growth, and wants to see proof that Gigablue's particles cause the ocean to absorb more CO2 from the air. 'These are incredibly challenging issues that I don't think, certainly for the biological part, I don't think anyone on the planet has got solutions for them,' he said. James Kerry, a senior marine and climate scientist for the conservation group OceanCare and senior research fellow at Australia's James Cook University, has closely followed Gigablue's work. 'What we've got is a situation of a company, a startup, upfront selling large quantities of credits for a technology that is unproven,' he said. In a statement, Gigablue said that bacteria does consume the particles but the effect is minimal, and its measurements will account for any loss of algae or particles as they sink. The company noted that a major science institute in New Zealand has given Gigablue its stamp of approval. Gigablue hired the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a government-owned company, to review several drafts of its methodology. In a recent letter posted to Gigablue's website, the institute's chief ocean scientist said his staff had confidence the company's work is 'scientifically sound' and the proposed measurements for carbon sequestration were robust. Whether Gigablue's methods are deemed successful, for now, will be determined not by regulators — but by another private company. A new market is one of several companies known as registries that serve the carbon credit market. Amid the lack of regulation and the potential for climate startups to overstate their impact, registries aim to verify how much carbon was really removed. The Finnish has verified more than a million carbon credits since its founding seven years ago. But most of those credits originated in land-based climate projects. Only recently has it aimed to set standards for the ocean. In part, that's because marine carbon credits are some of the newest to be traded. Dozens of ocean startups have entered the industry, with credit sales catapulting from 2,000 in 2021 to more than 340,000, including Gigablue's deal, last year. But the ocean remains a hostile and expensive place in which to operate a business or monitor research. Some ocean startups have sold credits only to fold before they could complete their work. Running Tide, a Maine-based startup aimed at removing carbon from the atmosphere by sinking wood chips and seaweed, abruptly shuttered last year despite the backing of $50 million from investors, leaving sales of about 7,000 carbon credits unfulfilled. In June, published a draft methodology that will be used to verify Gigablue's work, which it designed in consultation with Gigablue. Once finalized, Gigablue will pay the registry for each metric ton of carbon dioxide that it claims to remove. Marianne Tikkanen, head of standards at said that although this methodology was designed with Gigablue, her team expects other startups to adopt the same approach. 'We hope that there will be many who can do it and that it stimulates the market,' she said. The road ahead It remains to be seen whether New Zealand officials will grant permission for the expanded 'sequestration field' that Gigablue has proposed creating, or if the company will look to other countries. New Zealand's environmental authority has so far treated Gigablue's work as research — a designation that requires no formal review process or consultations with the public. The agency said in a statement that it could not comment on how it would handle a future commercial application from Gigablue. But like many climate startups, Gigablue was involved in selling carbon credits during its research expeditions — not only inking a major deal, but smaller agreements, too. Pallas, the Italian businessman, said he ordered 22 carbon credits from Gigablue last year to offset the emissions associated with his event in November. He said Gigablue gave them to him for free — but says he will pay for more in the future. Pallas sought out carbon credits because he sees the signs of climate change all around him, he says, and expects more requirements in Italy for businesses to decarbonize in coming years. He chose Gigablue because they are one of the largest suppliers: 'They've got quantity,' he said. How authorities view Gigablue's growing commercial activity could matter in the context of an international treaty that has banned certain climate operations in the ocean. More than a decade ago, dozens of countries including New Zealand agreed they should not allow any commercial climate endeavor that involves releasing iron in the ocean, a technique known as 'iron fertilization.' Only research, they said, with no prospect of economic gain should be allowed. Iron is considered a key ingredient for spurring algae growth and was embedded in the particles that Gigablue dispersed in October in the Pacific Ocean. Several scientific papers have raised concerns that spurring iron-fueled algae blooms on a large scale would deplete important nutrients in the ocean and harm fisheries. The startup denies any link to iron dumping on the basis that its particles don't release iron directly into the water and don't create an uncontrolled algae bloom. 'We are not fertilizing the ocean,' Markus-Alford said. 'In fact, we looked at iron fertilization as an inspiration of something to avoid,' Shaashua said. But the draft methodology that will use to verify Gigablue's work notes many of the same concerns that have been raised about iron fertilization, including disruptions to the marine food web. Other scientists who spoke with AP see a clear link between Gigablue's work and the controversial practice. 'If they're using iron to stimulate phytoplankton growth,' said Kerry, the OceanCare scientist, 'then it is iron fertilization.' For now, scientific concerns don't seem to have troubled Gigablue's buyers. The company has already planned its next research expedition in New Zealand and hopes to release more particles this fall. 'They mean well, and so do I,' said Pallas, of his support for Gigablue. 'Sooner or later, I'll catch a plane, go to New Zealand, and grab a boat to see what they've done.' — This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. __ Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Company's carbon credits raise questions about unproven ocean technology to fight global warming
The startup Gigablue announced with fanfare this year that it reached a historic milestone: selling 200,000 carbon credits to fund what it describes as a groundbreaking technology in the fight against climate change. Formed three years ago by a group of entrepreneurs in Israel, the company says it has designed particles that when released in the ocean will trap carbon at the bottom of the sea. By 'harnessing the power of nature,' Gigablue says, its work will do nothing less than save the planet. But outside scientists frustrated by the lack of information released by the company say serious questions remain about whether Gigablue's technology works as the company describes. Their questions showcase tensions in an industry built on little regulation and big promises — and a tantalizing chance to profit. Jimmy Pallas, an event organizer based in Italy, struck a deal with Gigablue last year. He said he trusts the company does what it has promised him — ensuring the transportation, meals, and electricity of a recent 1,000-person event will be offset by particles in the ocean. Gigablue's service is like 'an extra trash can' where Pallas can discard his unwanted emissions, he said. 'Same way I use my trash can — I don't follow where the truck that comes and picks up my trash brings it to,' he said. 'I'll take their word for it.' 'Hundreds of thousands of carbon credits' Gigablue has a grand vision for the future of carbon removal. It was originally named 'Gigaton' after the one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide most scientists say will be necessary to remove from the atmosphere each year to slow global warming. The company began trials in the South Pacific Ocean last year, and says it will work with country authorities to create a 'sequestration field' — a dedicated part of the ocean where 'pulses' of particles will be released on a seasonal basis. Gigablue says its solution is affordable, too — priced to attract investors. 'Every time we go to the ocean, we generate hundreds of thousands of carbon credits, and this is what we're going to do continuously over the upcoming years and towards the future, in greater and greater quantities,' co-founder Ori Shaashua said. Carbon credits, which have grown in popularity over the last decade, are tokens that symbolize the removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On paper, companies that buy credits achieve a smaller carbon footprint without needing to reduce their own emissions — for instance, by paying another vendor to plant trees or capture carbon dioxide from the air. Only a few countries have required local industries to purchase carbon credits. Most companies that buy them, including Microsoft and Google, do so voluntarily. The credits have helped fund a band of startups like Gigablue that are eager to tackle the climate crisis, but they are also unevenly regulated, scientifically complex, and have in some cases been linked to fraud. Gigablue's 200,000 credits are pledged to SkiesFifty, a newly formed company investing in greener practices for the aviation industry. It's the largest sale to date for a climate startup operating in the ocean, according to the tracking site making up more than half of all ocean-based carbon credits sold last year. And it could beckon a rapid acceleration of the company's work. Gigablue hopes to reach a goal this year of capturing 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide for each ton of particles it deploys, Shaashua said. At that rate, Gigablue would disperse at least 20,000 tons of particles in the ocean. Gigablue wouldn't reveal what it earned in the sale, and SkiesFifty's team declined to be interviewed for this story. Most credits are sold for a few hundred dollars each — but a chart on Gigablue's website suggests its prices are lower than almost any other form of carbon capture on the market. A mission to save the world The startup is the brainchild of four entrepreneurs hailing from the tech industry. According to their LinkedIn profiles, Gigablue's CEO previously worked for an online grocery startup, while its COO was vice president of SeeTree, a company that raised $60 million to provide farmers with information on their trees. Shaashua, who often serves as the face of Gigablue, said he specializes in using artificial intelligence to pursue positive outcomes in the world. He co-founded a data mining company that tracked exposure risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and led an auto startup that brokered data on car mileage and traffic patterns. 'Three years ago, I decided to take the same formula, so to say, to climate,' Shaashua said. Under his guidance, he said, Gigablue created an AI-driven 'digital twin' of the ocean based on dozens of metrics to determine where to release the particles. Chief technology officer Sapir Markus-Alford earned a bachelor's degree in earth and environmental sciences from Israel's Ben-Gurion University in 2021, shortly before founding Gigablue. Markus-Alford said she began her studies and eventual path to Gigablue after seeing bleached coral reefs and other impacts of warming waters on a series of diving trips around the world. 'I understood that the best thing we could do for the ocean is to be able to remove CO2,' Markus-Alford said. A spokesperson for Gigablue did not answer whether the other co-founders have graduate degrees in oceanography or environmental science, but said the company's broader team holds a total of 46 Ph.D.s with expertise in biology, chemistry, oceanography, and environmental science. Markus-Alford said that figure includes outside experts and academics and 'everyone that supports us.' The company's staffing has expanded from Israel to hubs in New York and New Zealand, Shaashua said. In social media posts advertising open jobs, Gigablue employees encouraged applicants to 'Join Our Mission to Save the World!' Trapping carbon at the bottom of the ocean The particles Gigablue has patented are meant to capture carbon in the ocean by floating for a number of days and growing algae, before sinking rapidly to the ocean floor. 'We are an elevator for carbon,' Shaashua said. 'We are exporting the carbon from the top to the bottom.' Algae — sometimes referred to as phytoplankton — has long been attractive to climate scientists because it absorbs carbon dioxide from the surrounding water as it grows. If the algae sinks to the deep sea or ocean floor, Gigablue expects the carbon to be trapped there for hundreds to thousands of years. The ultimate goal is to lower carbon dioxide levels so drastically that the ocean rebalances with the atmosphere by soaking up more CO2 from the air. It's a feat that would help slow climate change, but one that is still under active study by climate scientists. Gigablue's founders have said the company's work is inspired by nature and 'very, very environmentally safe.' The company's particles and sinking methods simply recreate what nature has been doing 'since forever,' Shaashua said. Gigablue ran its first trial sinking particles in the Mediterranean in March last year. Later, on two voyages to the South Pacific, the company released 60 cubic meters — about two shipping containers — of particles off the coast of New Zealand. Materials kept a mystery While Gigablue has made several commercial deals, it has not yet revealed what its particles are made of. Partly this is because the company says it will build different particles tailored to different seasons and areas of the ocean. 'It's proprietary,' Markus-Alford said. Documents provide a window into the possible ingredients. According to information on the permit, Gigablue's first New Zealand trial last year involved releasing particles of pure vermiculite, a porous clay often used in potting soil. In the second New Zealand trial, the company released particles made of vermiculite, ground rock, a plant-based wax, as well as manganese and iron. A patent published last year hints the particles could also be made of scores of other materials, including cotton, rice husks or jute, as well as synthetic ingredients like polyester fibers or lint. The particles contain a range of possible binding agents, and up to 18 different chemicals and metals, from iron to nickel to vanadium. Without specifying future designs, Markus-Alford said Gigablue's particles meet certain requirements: 'All the materials we use are materials that are natural, nontoxic, nonhazardous, and can be found in the ocean,' she said. She wouldn't comment on the possible use of cotton or rice, but said the particles won't include any kind of plastic. When asked about vermiculite, which is typically mined on land and heated to expand, Markus-Alford said rivers and erosion transport most materials including vermiculite to the ocean. 'Almost everything, basically, that exists on land can be found in the ocean,' she said. The company said it had commissioned an environmental institute to verify that the particles are safe for thousands of organisms, including mussels and oysters. Any materials in future particles, Gigablue said, will be approved by local authorities. Shaashua has said the particles are so benign that they have zero impact on the ocean. 'We are not changing the water chemistry or the water biology,' Shaashua said. Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has spent decades studying the biological carbon cycle of the ocean, says that while he's intrigued by Gigablue's proposal, the idea that the particles don't alter the ocean is 'almost inconceivable.' 'There has to be a relationship between what they're putting in the ocean and the carbon dioxide that's dissolved in seawater for this to, quote, work,' Buesseler said. Buesseler co-leads a nonprofit group of scientists hoping to tap the power of algae in the ocean to capture carbon. The group organizes regular forums on the subject, and Gigablue presented in April. 'I left with more questions than answers,' Buesseler said. Scientists raise questions Several scientists not affiliated with Gigablue interviewed by The Associated Press said they were interested in how a company with so little public information about its technology could secure a deal for 200,000 carbon credits. The success of the company's method, they said, will depend on how much algae grows on the particles, and the amount that sinks to the deep ocean. So far, Gigablue has not released any studies demonstrating those rates. Thomas Kiørboe, a professor of ocean ecology at the Technical University of Denmark, and Philip Boyd, an oceanographer at the University of Tasmania who studies the role of algae in the Earth's carbon cycle, said they were doubtful algae would get enough sunlight to grow inside the particles. It's more likely the particles would attract hungry bacteria, Kiørboe said. 'Typical phytoplankton do not grow on surfaces, and they do not colonize particles,' Kiørboe said. 'To most phytoplankton ecologists, this would just be, I think, absurd.' The rates at which Gigablue says its particles sink — up to a hundred meters (yards) per hour — might shear off algae from the particles in the quick descent, Boyd said. It's likely that some particles would also be eaten by fish — limiting the carbon capture, and raising the question of how the particles could impact marine life. Boyd is eager to see field results showing algae growth, and wants to see proof that Gigablue's particles cause the ocean to absorb more CO2 from the air. 'These are incredibly challenging issues that I don't think, certainly for the biological part, I don't think anyone on the planet has got solutions for them,' he said. James Kerry, a senior marine and climate scientist for the conservation group OceanCare and senior research fellow at Australia's James Cook University, has closely followed Gigablue's work. 'What we've got is a situation of a company, a startup, upfront selling large quantities of credits for a technology that is unproven,' he said. In a statement, Gigablue said that bacteria does consume the particles but the effect is minimal, and its measurements will account for any loss of algae or particles as they sink. The company noted that a major science institute in New Zealand has given Gigablue its stamp of approval. Gigablue hired the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a government-owned company, to review several drafts of its methodology. In a recent letter posted to Gigablue's website, the institute's chief ocean scientist said his staff had confidence the company's work is 'scientifically sound' and the proposed measurements for carbon sequestration were robust. Whether Gigablue's methods are deemed successful, for now, will be determined not by regulators — but by another private company. A new market is one of several companies known as registries that serve the carbon credit market. Amid the lack of regulation and the potential for climate startups to overstate their impact, registries aim to verify how much carbon was really removed. The Finnish has verified more than a million carbon credits since its founding seven years ago. But most of those credits originated in land-based climate projects. Only recently has it aimed to set standards for the ocean. In part, that's because marine carbon credits are some of the newest to be traded. Dozens of ocean startups have entered the industry, with credit sales catapulting from 2,000 in 2021 to more than 340,000, including Gigablue's deal, last year. But the ocean remains a hostile and expensive place in which to operate a business or monitor research. Some ocean startups have sold credits only to fold before they could complete their work. Running Tide, a Maine-based startup aimed at removing carbon from the atmosphere by sinking wood chips and seaweed, abruptly shuttered last year despite the backing of $50 million from investors, leaving sales of about 7,000 carbon credits unfulfilled. In June, published a draft methodology that will be used to verify Gigablue's work, which it designed in consultation with Gigablue. Once finalized, Gigablue will pay the registry for each metric ton of carbon dioxide that it claims to remove. Marianne Tikkanen, head of standards at said that although this methodology was designed with Gigablue, her team expects other startups to adopt the same approach. 'We hope that there will be many who can do it and that it stimulates the market,' she said. The road ahead It remains to be seen whether New Zealand officials will grant permission for the expanded 'sequestration field' that Gigablue has proposed creating, or if the company will look to other countries. New Zealand's environmental authority has so far treated Gigablue's work as research — a designation that requires no formal review process or consultations with the public. The agency said in a statement that it could not comment on how it would handle a future commercial application from Gigablue. But like many climate startups, Gigablue was involved in selling carbon credits during its research expeditions — not only inking a major deal, but smaller agreements, too. Pallas, the Italian businessman, said he ordered 22 carbon credits from Gigablue last year to offset the emissions associated with his event in November. He said Gigablue gave them to him for free — but says he will pay for more in the future. Pallas sought out carbon credits because he sees the signs of climate change all around him, he says, and expects more requirements in Italy for businesses to decarbonize in coming years. He chose Gigablue because they are one of the largest suppliers: 'They've got quantity,' he said. How authorities view Gigablue's growing commercial activity could matter in the context of an international treaty that has banned certain climate operations in the ocean. More than a decade ago, dozens of countries including New Zealand agreed they should not allow any commercial climate endeavor that involves releasing iron in the ocean, a technique known as 'iron fertilization.' Only research, they said, with no prospect of economic gain should be allowed. Iron is considered a key ingredient for spurring algae growth and was embedded in the particles that Gigablue dispersed in October in the Pacific Ocean. Several scientific papers have raised concerns that spurring iron-fueled algae blooms on a large scale would deplete important nutrients in the ocean and harm fisheries. The startup denies any link to iron dumping on the basis that its particles don't release iron directly into the water and don't create an uncontrolled algae bloom. 'We are not fertilizing the ocean,' Markus-Alford said. 'In fact, we looked at iron fertilization as an inspiration of something to avoid,' Shaashua said. But the draft methodology that will use to verify Gigablue's work notes many of the same concerns that have been raised about iron fertilization, including disruptions to the marine food web. Other scientists who spoke with AP see a clear link between Gigablue's work and the controversial practice. 'If they're using iron to stimulate phytoplankton growth,' said Kerry, the OceanCare scientist, 'then it is iron fertilization.' For now, scientific concerns don't seem to have troubled Gigablue's buyers. The company has already planned its next research expedition in New Zealand and hopes to release more particles this fall. 'They mean well, and so do I,' said Pallas, of his support for Gigablue. 'Sooner or later, I'll catch a plane, go to New Zealand, and grab a boat to see what they've done.' — This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. __ Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
The Star
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Company's carbon credits raise questions about unproven ocean technology to fight global warming
The startup Gigablue announced with fanfare this year that it reached a historic milestone: selling 200,000 carbon credits to fund what it describes as a groundbreaking technology in the fight against climate change. Formed three years ago by a group of entrepreneurs in Israel, the company says it has designed particles that when released in the ocean will trap carbon at the bottom of the sea. By "harnessing the power of nature,' Gigablue says, its work will do nothing less than save the planet. But outside scientists frustrated by the lack of information released by the company say serious questions remain about whether Gigablue's technology works as the company describes. Their questions showcase tensions in an industry built on little regulation and big promises – and a tantalising chance to profit. Jimmy Pallas, an event organiser based in Italy, struck a deal with Gigablue last year. He said he trusts the company does what it has promised him – ensuring the transportation, meals, and electricity of a recent 1,000-person event will be offset by particles in the ocean. Gigablue's service is like "an extra trash can' where Pallas can discard his unwanted emissions, he said. "Same way I use my trash can – I don't follow where the truck that comes and picks up my trash brings it to,' he said. "I'll take their word for it.' 'Hundreds of thousands of carbon credits' Gigablue has a grand vision for the future of carbon removal. It was originally named "Gigaton' after the one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide most scientists say will be necessary to remove from the atmosphere each year to slow global warming. The company began trials in the South Pacific Ocean last year, and says it will work with country authorities to create a "sequestration field' – a dedicated part of the ocean where "pulses' of particles will be released on a seasonal basis. Gigablue says its solution is affordable, too – priced to attract investors. "Every time we go to the ocean, we generate hundreds of thousands of carbon credits, and this is what we're going to do continuously over the upcoming years and towards the future, in greater and greater quantities,' co-founder Ori Shaashua said. Carbon credits, which have grown in popularity over the last decade, are tokens that symbolise the removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On paper, companies that buy credits achieve a smaller carbon footprint without needing to reduce their own emissions – for instance, by paying another vendor to plant trees or capture carbon dioxide from the air. Only a few countries have required local industries to purchase carbon credits. Most companies that buy them, including Microsoft and Google, do so voluntarily. The credits have helped fund a band of startups like Gigablue that are eager to tackle the climate crisis, but they are also unevenly regulated, scientifically complex, and have in some cases been linked to fraud. Gigablue's 200,000 credits are pledged to SkiesFifty, a newly formed company investing in greener practices for the aviation industry. It's the largest sale to date for a climate startup operating in the ocean, according to the tracking site making up more than half of all ocean-based carbon credits sold last year. And it could beckon a rapid acceleration of the company's work. Gigablue hopes to reach a goal this year of capturing 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide for each ton of particles it deploys, Shaashua said. At that rate, Gigablue would disperse at least 20,000 tons of particles in the ocean. Gigablue wouldn't reveal what it earned in the sale, and SkiesFifty's team declined to be interviewed for this story. Most credits are sold for a few hundred dollars each - but a chart on Gigablue's website suggests its prices are lower than almost any other form of carbon capture on the market. A mission to save the world The startup is the brainchild of four entrepreneurs hailing from the tech industry. According to their LinkedIn profiles, Gigablue's CEO previously worked for an online grocery startup, while its COO was vice president of SeeTree, a company that raised US$60mil to provide farmers with information on their trees. Shaashua, who often serves as the face of Gigablue, said he specialises in using artificial intelligence to pursue positive outcomes in the world. He co-founded a data mining company that tracked exposure risks during the Covid-19 pandemic, and led an auto startup that brokered data on car mileage and traffic patterns. "Three years ago, I decided to take the same formula, so to say, to climate,' Shaashua said. Under his guidance, he said, Gigablue created an AI-driven "digital twin' of the ocean based on dozens of metrics to determine where to release the particles. Chief technology officer Sapir Markus-Alford earned a bachelor's degree in earth and environmental sciences from Israel's Ben-Gurion University in 2021, shortly before founding Gigablue. Markus-Alford said she began her studies and eventual path to Gigablue after seeing bleached coral reefs and other impacts of warming waters on a series of diving trips around the world. "I understood that the best thing we could do for the ocean is to be able to remove CO2,' Markus-Alford said. A spokesperson for Gigablue did not answer whether the other co-founders have graduate degrees in oceanography or environmental science, but said the company's broader team holds a total of 46 Ph.D.s with expertise in biology, chemistry, oceanography, and environmental science. Markus-Alford said that figure includes outside experts and academics and "everyone that supports us'. The company's staffing has expanded from Israel to hubs in New York and New Zealand, Shaashua said. In social media posts advertising open jobs, Gigablue employees encouraged applicants to "Join Our Mission to Save the World!' Trapping carbon at the bottom of the ocean The particles Gigablue has patented are meant to capture carbon in the ocean by floating for a number of days and growing algae, before sinking rapidly to the ocean floor. "We are an elevator for carbon,' Shaashua said. "We are exporting the carbon from the top to the bottom.' Algae – sometimes referred to as phytoplankton – has long been attractive to climate scientists because it absorbs carbon dioxide from the surrounding water as it grows. If the algae sinks to the deep sea or ocean floor, Gigablue expects the carbon to be trapped there for hundreds to thousands of years. The ultimate goal is to lower carbon dioxide levels so drastically that the ocean rebalances with the atmosphere by soaking up more CO2 from the air. It's a feat that would help slow climate change, but one that is still under active study by climate scientists. Gigablue's founders have said the company's work is inspired by nature and "very, very environmentally safe.' The company's particles and sinking methods simply recreate what nature has been doing "since forever,' Shaashua said. Gigablue ran its first trial sinking particles in the Mediterranean in March last year. Later, on two voyages to the South Pacific, the company released 60 cubic meters – about two shipping containers – of particles off the coast of New Zealand. Materials kept a mystery While Gigablue has made several commercial deals, it has not yet revealed what its particles are made of. Partly this is because the company says it will build different particles tailored to different seasons and areas of the ocean. "It's proprietary,' Markus-Alford said. Documents provide a window into the possible ingredients. According to information on the permit, Gigablue's first New Zealand trial last year involved releasing particles of pure vermiculite, a porous clay often used in potting soil. In the second New Zealand trial, the company released particles made of vermiculite, ground rock, a plant-based wax, as well as manganese and iron. A patent published last year hints the particles could also be made of scores of other materials, including cotton, rice husks or jute, as well as synthetic ingredients like polyester fibers or lint. The particles contain a range of possible binding agents, and up to 18 different chemicals and metals, from iron to nickel to vanadium. Without specifying future designs, Markus-Alford said Gigablue's particles meet certain requirements: "All the materials we use are materials that are natural, nontoxic, nonhazardous, and can be found in the ocean,' she said. She wouldn't comment on the possible use of cotton or rice, but said the particles won't include any kind of plastic. When asked about vermiculite, which is typically mined on land and heated to expand, Markus-Alford said rivers and erosion transport most materials including vermiculite to the ocean. "Almost everything, basically, that exists on land can be found in the ocean,' she said. The company said it had commissioned an environmental institute to verify that the particles are safe for thousands of organisms, including mussels and oysters. Any materials in future particles, Gigablue said, will be approved by local authorities. Shaashua has said the particles are so benign that they have zero impact on the ocean. "We are not changing the water chemistry or the water biology,' Shaashua said. Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has spent decades studying the biological carbon cycle of the ocean, says that while he's intrigued by Gigablue's proposal, the idea that the particles don't alter the ocean is "almost inconceivable.' "There has to be a relationship between what they're putting in the ocean and the carbon dioxide that's dissolved in seawater for this to, quote, work,' Buesseler said. Buesseler co-leads a nonprofit group of scientists hoping to tap the power of algae in the ocean to capture carbon. The group organizes regular forums on the subject, and Gigablue presented in April. "I left with more questions than answers,' Buesseler said. Scientists raise questions Several scientists not affiliated with Gigablue interviewed by The Associated Press said they were interested in how a company with so little public information about its technology could secure a deal for 200,000 carbon credits. The success of the company's method, they said, will depend on how much algae grows on the particles, and the amount that sinks to the deep ocean. So far, Gigablue has not released any studies demonstrating those rates. Thomas Kiørboe, a professor of ocean ecology at the Technical University of Denmark, and Philip Boyd, an oceanographer at the University of Tasmania who studies the role of algae in the Earth's carbon cycle, said they were doubtful algae would get enough sunlight to grow inside the particles. It's more likely the particles would attract hungry bacteria, Kiørboe said. "Typical phytoplankton do not grow on surfaces, and they do not colonize particles,' Kiørboe said. "To most phytoplankton ecologists, this would just be, I think, absurd.' The rates at which Gigablue says its particles sink – up to a hundred meters (yards) per hour – might shear off algae from the particles in the quick descent, Boyd said. It's likely that some particles would also be eaten by fish – limiting the carbon capture, and raising the question of how the particles could impact marine life. Boyd is eager to see field results showing algae growth, and wants to see proof that Gigablue's particles cause the ocean to absorb more CO2 from the air. "These are incredibly challenging issues that I don't think, certainly for the biological part, I don't think anyone on the planet has got solutions for them,' he said. James Kerry, a senior marine and climate scientist for the conservation group OceanCare and senior research fellow at Australia's James Cook University, has closely followed Gigablue's work. "What we've got is a situation of a company, a startup, upfront selling large quantities of credits for a technology that is unproven,' he said. In a statement, Gigablue said that bacteria does consume the particles but the effect is minimal, and its measurements will account for any loss of algae or particles as they sink. The company noted that a major science institute in New Zealand has given Gigablue its stamp of approval. Gigablue hired the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a government-owned company, to review several drafts of its methodology. In a recent letter posted to Gigablue's website, the institute's chief ocean scientist said his staff had confidence the company's work is "scientifically sound' and the proposed measurements for carbon sequestration were robust. Whether Gigablue's methods are deemed successful, for now, will be determined not by regulators – but by another private company. A new market is one of several companies known as registries that serve the carbon credit market. Amid the lack of regulation and the potential for climate startups to overstate their impact, registries aim to verify how much carbon was really removed. The Finnish has verified more than a million carbon credits since its founding seven years ago. But most of those credits originated in land-based climate projects. Only recently has it aimed to set standards for the ocean. In part, that's because marine carbon credits are some of the newest to be traded. Dozens of ocean startups have entered the industry, with credit sales catapulting from 2,000 in 2021 to more than 340,000, including Gigablue's deal, last year. But the ocean remains a hostile and expensive place in which to operate a business or monitor research. Some ocean startups have sold credits only to fold before they could complete their work. Running Tide, a Maine-based startup aimed at removing carbon from the atmosphere by sinking wood chips and seaweed, abruptly shuttered last year despite the backing of US$50mil from investors, leaving sales of about 7,000 carbon credits unfulfilled. In June, published a draft methodology that will be used to verify Gigablue's work, which it designed in consultation with Gigablue. Once finalised, Gigablue will pay the registry for each metric ton of carbon dioxide that it claims to remove. Marianne Tikkanen, head of standards at said that although this methodology was designed with Gigablue, her team expects other startups to adopt the same approach. "We hope that there will be many who can do it and that it stimulates the market,' she said. The road ahead It remains to be seen whether New Zealand officials will grant permission for the expanded "sequestration field' that Gigablue has proposed creating, or if the company will look to other countries. New Zealand's environmental authority has so far treated Gigablue's work as research – a designation that requires no formal review process or consultations with the public. The agency said in a statement that it could not comment on how it would handle a future commercial application from Gigablue. But like many climate startups, Gigablue was involved in selling carbon credits during its research expeditions – not only inking a major deal, but smaller agreements, too. Pallas, the Italian businessman, said he ordered 22 carbon credits from Gigablue last year to offset the emissions associated with his event in November. He said Gigablue gave them to him for free – but says he will pay for more in the future. Pallas sought out carbon credits because he sees the signs of climate change all around him, he says, and expects more requirements in Italy for businesses to decarbonize in coming years. He chose Gigablue because they are one of the largest suppliers: "They've got quantity,' he said. How authorities view Gigablue's growing commercial activity could matter in the context of an international treaty that has banned certain climate operations in the ocean. More than a decade ago, dozens of countries including New Zealand agreed they should not allow any commercial climate endeavor that involves releasing iron in the ocean, a technique known as "iron fertilisation.' Only research, they said, with no prospect of economic gain should be allowed. Iron is considered a key ingredient for spurring algae growth and was embedded in the particles that Gigablue dispersed in October in the Pacific Ocean. Several scientific papers have raised concerns that spurring iron-fueled algae blooms on a large scale would deplete important nutrients in the ocean and harm fisheries. The startup denies any link to iron dumping on the basis that its particles don't release iron directly into the water and don't create an uncontrolled algae bloom. "We are not fertilising the ocean,' Markus-Alford said. "In fact, we looked at iron fertilisation as an inspiration of something to avoid,' Shaashua said. But the draft methodology that will use to verify Gigablue's work notes many of the same concerns that have been raised about iron fertilization, including disruptions to the marine food web. Other scientists who spoke with AP see a clear link between Gigablue's work and the controversial practice. "If they're using iron to stimulate phytoplankton growth,' said Kerry, the OceanCare scientist, "then it is iron fertilization.' For now, scientific concerns don't seem to have troubled Gigablue's buyers. The company has already planned its next research expedition in New Zealand and hopes to release more particles this fall. "They mean well, and so do I,' said Pallas, of his support for Gigablue. "Sooner or later, I'll catch a plane, go to New Zealand, and grab a boat to see what they've done.' – AP
