2025 Archives

ZeroEx

ZeroEx (https://zeroex.com/en) is field-testing ERW in western Germany to assess the natural sink for carbon dioxide via silicate rock weathering. In ZeroEx’s case, crushed silicate rock similar to basalt (available from local mines) is spread over agricultural lands, which also enhances soil fertility. While ZeroEx operates within stringent EU guidelines, the environmental risks of ERW more generally are poorly understood. ZeroEx will use the grant for a 3-year field trial to investigate any potentially toxic elements (PTE) resulting in plants, soil, and leachate samples. It will work closely with EIA experts who will independently assess the risks, if any, of PTEs from ZeroEx’s operations. The EIA will enable the safe deployment of ERW locally and, through publications of ZeroEx’s analyses, it could help guide ERW globally.

Frost Methane (http://www.frostmethane.com/) intends to understand the broader environmental effects of installing its “cover-and-flare” systems on livestock farm manure ponds, beyond just methane mitigation. These effects may include production of NOx in the biogas flaring process, reductions in N2O and NH3 emissions from manure resulting from covering manure ponds, manure nitrogen content changes, and changes in farmer manure management practices as a result of the cover-and-flare system. Developing a comprehensive understanding of the on-farm environmental impacts will enable quantification of the co-benefits and potential risks of this novel technology for farmers and for rural areas more broadly. An EIA conducted on one or more of Frost Methane’s current cover-and-flare deployment field tests will support broader adoption of its technology across the hundreds of thousands of livestock farms with concentrated manure ponds globally.