17 November 2022
Introduction: Carbon Removal Scalability Assessment
Victoria Harvey
Research Associate
Garrett Guard
Research Analyst
Ted Christie-Miller
Head of Carbon Removal
10 min
The challenge to scale carbon removal* technologies from thousands of tonnes to billions of tonnes is vast. At present, it is difficult for investors and credit buyers to understand the future potential of these nascent technologies, which stifles their appetite for financing.
This report, and the upcoming Scalability Assessment, opens the lid on the zeitgeist of the carbon removal market: scalability. Looking at five key carbon removal methods, this paper discusses the case for evaluating scalability, the challenges faced, and the research principles used to establish the Scalability Assessment framework.
Key Takeaways:
1.The carbon removal market is currently immature and is in urgent need of scaling if it is to meaningfully contribute to meeting climate targets in 2030, 2050 and beyond.
2. This innovation curve is one of the steepest in the history of technological progress, meaning that the ability to quickly and robustly scale is crucial.
3. The challenges in assessing scalability include: the uncertainty of the future; and, the variation between carbon removal methods.
4. BeZero’s upcoming Scalability Assessment will be a top-down analysis of five carbon removal methods. The first of its kind, it will use only publicly available data and the comparative results will be produced through a qualitative framework.
*For the purpose of this research “carbon removal” applies to engineered forms of carbon removal. See here for more detail.