Climate Vault Solutions Opens RFP Round for Innovative Carbon Dioxide Removal Projects With New Benefits, Streamlined Application Process

SEATTLE, November 13, 2024 /3BL/ - Climate Vault Solutions today announced the launch of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for innovative carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. The RFP program is designed to drive the next wave of CDR technologies that will catalyze global carbon removal solutions. In a significant shift from prior rounds run by the Climate Vault, Inc. 501(c)(3), this RFP will accept rolling submissions on a new streamlined platform and feature program enhancements that will cut the evaluation process in half. This enables Climate Vault Solutions to accelerate the overall pace of innovation occurring within the CDR space by providing applicants with more flexibility and faster results that can help grow and scale their technologies.

How to Apply 
Climate Vault Solutions seeks projects that demonstrate innovation and scalability, with a focus on measurable and verifiable carbon removal outcomes. CDR developers interested in applying can submit project proposals at any time. At this time, the RFP program is open to solutions worldwide that fall under the terrestrial, technological, and oceanic pathways. Most projects will receive feedback and a final decision within six months of submission, offering more predictability and speed for innovators seeking to scale their solutions. Successful applicants will receive the CDR Innovation Award, which contains many benefits including: opportunities for grant funding, co-marketing activities, and inclusion in Climate Vault Solutions’ exclusive portfolio and direct sales channel for carbon removal credits.

The RFP leverages the standards created by the Climate Vault Technology Experts Chamber (“Tech Chamber”), which is led by former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, under the Climate Vault, Inc. 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It establishes standards, which are the most stringent in the industry, for evaluating high-quality carbon removal technologies through the RFP program.

“Carbon dioxide removal is no longer an option; it's an absolute necessity in our fight against climate change,” said Secretary Moniz. “We need CDR technologies that are held to the highest standards, because only those with proven scalability and credibility can make the impact required to reach net zero emissions.”

Each project application is subjected to a multi-step review against these standards to ensure it meets measurable, verifiable, and scalable benchmarks before being selected as a winning project. This process ensures that only the most credible, high-quality technologies are selected to receive the CDR Innovation Award.

“Over the last few decades, the voluntary carbon market has failed to deliver the promised reductions in greenhouse gasses due to weak standards and conflicts of interest,” said Michael Greenstone, Chairman of the Board for Climate Vault Solutions and the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. “With all serious plans to limit climate damages relying on the emergence of reliable CDR technologies, we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past in judging which ones deliver.”

“Put simply, the planet needs credible CDR technologies,” Greenstone continued. “Climate Vault’s Tech Chamber, composed of the world’s leading scientists on these technologies, is setting the global standard for what qualifies as high-quality CDR. Climate progress depends on them getting it right and we are honored to work with them.”

The RFP for Innovative CDR Projects is at the forefront of advancing high-impact carbon removal technologies. The previous RFP round, run by the Climate Vault 501(c)(3), saw a more than 500 percent increase in applications and, critically, the inaugural selection of two CDR companies—Carbon Lockdown and Octavia Carbon—as recipients of the CDR Innovation Award. Together, their approved projects are capable of verifiably removing up to 15,000 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. This was the first time the Tech Chamber’s rigorous standards for CDR solutions had been fully met, and this new enhanced round from Climate Vault Solutions aims to build on that momentum.

“Climate Vault's commitment to supporting innovative CDR solutions like ours is exactly what we need to accelerate carbon removal in time to address the climate issue,” said Martin Freimüller, Co-Founder & CEO of Octavia Carbon. “Their support will provide the perfect springboard for us to accelerate the development and deployment of our low-cost DAC technology in Kenya.”

To learn more about the RFP process and eligibility criteria, visit Climate Vault Solutions’ RFP page.

###

About Climate Vault Solutions 
Climate Vault Solutions is a leading provider of sustainable technology solutions, helping organizations measure, manage, and reduce their carbon footprint in the most credible way possible. Its integrated reduction and removal program leverages government-regulated compliance carbon markets to knock out carbon in days, not decades. This approach generates the environmental impact that today’s employees, stakeholders and customers care about and expect from organizations. With a focus on transparency and verifiability, Climate Vault Solutions enables companies to take meaningful climate action today, while driving tangible progress towards a net-zero future. Learn more at www.climatevault.com.