Hourglass Climate

Hourglass Climate (hourglassclimate.org) is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to independent science for the responsible development of marine carbon dioxide removal. CIEIF’s grant will aid Hourglass’s development of a potential field test to evaluate the carbon removal efficiency and environmental safety of mineral-based Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) in New Zealand. The project would involve the nearshore release of approximately 2,000 tons of finely ground, locally-sourced rock. The mineral particles would dissolve, increasing seawater alkalinity and thereby enhancing the ocean’s capacity to absorb atmospheric CO₂ through air–sea gas exchange. The field test would provide stakeholders with transparent, accessible information about the safety and efficacy of nearshore OAE as well as generate the critical empirical data needed to advance novel measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) techniques and inform the potential for scaling this technology. CIEIF’s funding will primarily support ecotoxicological testing of potential impacts on culturally and commercially important marine species, as well as extensive outreach and engagement with New Zealand stakeholders which is critical for assessing the overall viability of, and next steps for, the proposed trial.