Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) is among five founding buyers of credits from a facility established by a Swiss carbon project developer, South Pole, aimed at scaling up carbon removal technologies.
South Pole’s NextGen facility has committed to buying 1m carbon dioxide removals (CDRs) from projects generated from a range of technologies by 2025, with verified CDRs to be delivered by 2030. NextGen has curated a pipeline of projects using five removal approaches: biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS), direct air capture and storage (DACS), enhanced weathering, high-temperature biochar, and product mineralization that require capital for deployment.
“The cost of carbon removals from technological projects today is very high, preventing mass market adoption that is critical in reaching this global climate milestone in less than a decade. Purchasing CDRs that can be realised this decade allow technology providers to finance their operations and to scale up, resulting in lower prices over time. By aggregating the demand for CDRs from leading companies, NextGen will create a market for more permanent technical carbon removals and allow these innovative projects to scale,” South Pole said, targeting an average price of $200/tonne.
Last year, MOL’s boss, Takeshi Hashimoto, outlined several priorities for the coming decade, including carbon credits to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. “This effort is a part of MOL’s broader goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. By taking responsible actions before regulations tell us what to do, we will ensure a prosperous future by contributing to the sustainable growth of people, society, and the planet, for all life living in the next generation,” Hashimoto said of MOL’s move to become an anchor buyer in the NextGen CDR facility.
In addition to MOL, founding buyers in NextGen will include Boston Consulting Group, private banking firm LGT, insurance firm Swiss Re and banking giant UBS.
