Fighting climate change with kelp
Grant | $25k
1,000
years of carbon sequestration
20x
more carbon sequestered per acre than a forest
With more forest cover than any other state in the country, Maine — and its abundance of carbon capturing trees — is a likely battleground in the fight against climate change. But as valuable as our forests are to combating global warming, it’s actually our state’s coastal waters where the most bold — and perhaps most effective — solution can be found.
Portland-based Running Tide is using their aquaculture expertise to execute an innovative project to sequester gigatons of carbon on the ocean floor. They plan to grow floating farms of kelp, which will capture carbon dioxide. Then, they’ll sink the kelp — and the CO2 — to the ocean floor, where it’ll remain for centuries.
MTI was an early supporter of the project, which has since seen significant follow-on outside investment, including from ecommerce giant Shopify and famous Silicon Valley venture capitalist Chris Sacca. Running Tide hopes to soon be selling “kelp carbon credits”, which will help offset negative impacts to our environment while supporting our state’s economy.