Mission Innovation – Carbon Dioxide Removal (MI-CDR) engagement
Project lead
Dr Renee Birchall
The purpose of MI is to accelerate the clean energy revolution globally by bringing together leading governments, the private sector, and innovators. One of its key goals is to double investment in member countries’ clean energy research and research and development (R&D) over five years.
The first phase of Mission Innovation (MI) was launched in response to the Paris Agreement in 2015. The overarching goal of the Paris Agreement is to maintain the global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
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our history is one of innovation
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stone to iron
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manual to machine
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today innovation is at the frontier of
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the next transition
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from fossil fuels to clean energy
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mission innovation is a catalyst uniting
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governments innovators industries and
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scientists on a single ambition
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to make clean energy affordable
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accessible and attractive for all
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almost half of the reduction in global
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emissions needed by 2050 will be
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achieved with technologies that today
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are only prototypes
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we need urgent action to bring these
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technologies to scale this decade
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mission innovation is an action-oriented
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platform to deliver the technologies
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capable of transforming sectors
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responsible for 50 percent of global
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emissions
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23 countries across six continents are
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already working together to catalyze
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global collaboration and innovation
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through missions that target this
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decade’s toughest clean energy
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challenges clean hydrogen zero emission
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shipping carbon dioxide removal
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urban transitions net zero industries
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integrated bio refineries and a green
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powered future
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the missions are public private
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alliances working to reach tipping
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points in the cost and scale of the
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technologies we need to accelerate
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decarbonisation worldwide
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each one brings together policymakers
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innovators investors and industry to
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develop the technology needed to support
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the integration of up to 100 renewable
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energy into power grids around the world
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enable 10 000 cities to slash carbon
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emissions and create cleaner urban
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environments
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decarbonize 90 percent of international
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trade through clean shipping
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make clean hydrogen cost competitive
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replace 10 of fossil-based fuels
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chemicals and materials with bio-based
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alternatives
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reduce co2 emissions from the industrial
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processes
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and enable carbon dioxide removal
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technologies to achieve a net reduction
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of 100 million metric tons of co2 per
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year by 2030
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mission innovation enables collaboration
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knowledge sharing capacity building and
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action providing a framework to track
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progress and build confidence in the
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solutions
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together we can deliver the technologies
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we need at scale this decade to make
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clean energy affordable accessible and
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attractive for all
Making clean energy affordable and accessible to all is still central to MI’s second phase, bringing together 23 countries across 6 continents to catalyse global collaboration and innovation to achieve this goal.; therefore, MI is seeking urgent action to bring emissions reductions and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies to scale and tackle this challenge through the MI-CDR mission.
MI-CDR Mission’s goal is to enable CDR technologies to achieve a net reduction of 100 million tonnes of CO2 per year globally by 2030 and set the necessary foundations for realising the potential of enhanced mineralisation industries globally. Under the MI-CDR mission, there are four technical tracks:
- Direct Air Capture (DAC) and Storage
- Enhanced Mineralisation (EM)*
- Biomass with Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS), and
- Cross-Cutting, which includes Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV).
Australia and Saudi Arabia are the EM Technical Track co-leads, with the USA, Canada, and Japan as active members.
*Note: Enhanced mineralisation (EM) is synonymous with mineral carbonation.
The Enhanced Mineralisation (EM) technical track
The global adoption of technological CDR practices that permanently removes more atmospheric carbon dioxide than is emitted is currently lacking. To increase confidence in mineral carbonation methods, it is critical that we conduct targeted research and demonstrations in parallel with efforts to address environmental concerns and drive down costs (enhancing efficiency can decrease mineral carbonation technology costs).
The EM Technical Track focuses on activities that fall under the following four priority areas, which are deemed necessary to set the foundations of mineral carbonation industries globally:
- Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) are crucial for driving innovation, improving efficiency, and addressing technical challenges. This lays the groundwork for scalable and cost-effective technologies highly adopted by industry.
- Scaling technologies is fundamental to achieving the goal of MI-CDR and realising global industries. Successful scaling requires significant investment, research, policy, and regulatory support to ensure widespread adoption and meaningful contribution towards net zero.
- Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) are pivotal for realising mineral carbonation as a CDR method by enabling informed decision-making and developing sustainable and efficient technologies.
- Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) ensures the credibility and accuracy of mineral carbonation technologies, enables informed decision-making, and fosters international cooperation. Standardised frameworks are required to track and compare progress; MRV enhances accountability and drives effective and sustainable policy implementation.
What is enhanced mineralisation?
Enhanced mineralisation is another term for mineral carbonation. Mineral carbonation is a naturally occurring geological process that has played a crucial role in removing atmospheric CO2 as part of the global carbon cycle for millions of years[1].
Also known as rock weathering, this process relies on the reaction of CO2 with divalent alkaline earth metal cations to produce stable carbonate minerals, a safe and permanent method for sequestering CO2.
Engineering can enhance the natural rate of mineral carbonation, and techniques typically fall into two categories:
- Ex-situ applications:
Combining concentrated CO2 with crushed silicate materials (i.e., ultramafic tailings or industrial wastes) or applying crushed silicate rock to the soil to interact passively with atmospheric CO2. - In-situ applications:
Injecting concentrated CO2 into mafic or ultramafic rock formations[2].
Why is enhanced mineralisation important?
In addition to sequestering and removing CO2, mineral carbonation can reduce and potentially improve some environmental impacts of mining and industrial wastes by recovering critical minerals in mine tailings while converting some hazardous components (such as asbestos) into inert carbonates and improving soil health through increasing pH and agricultural productivity. The critical challenge for mineral carbonation as a CO2 removal strategy is accelerating these techniques to achieve fast-acting, scalable, cost-effective, and responsible pathways to net zero.
The Mission Innovation – Carbon Dioxide Removal (MI-CDR) engagement is co-funded by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCCEEW)
References
- https://unfccc.int/most-requested/key-aspects-of-the-paris-agreement
- http://mission-innovation.net/about-mi/overview/
- https://explore.mission-innovation.net/mission/carbon-dioxide-removal/
- Fitch P, Battaglia M, Lenton A, Feron P, Gao L, Mei Y, Hortle A, Macdonald L, Pearce M, Occhipinti S, Roxburgh S, Steven A, Australia’s sequestration potential, CSIRO. [1] Wilcox, Kolosz, and Freeman, “Carbon Dioxide Removal Primer.”
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