Ocean Visions and Climate Interactive Add Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement to En-ROADS Simulator

oceannews.com

by solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 points

Ocean Visions partnered with Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan to add an Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) feature to the En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator. This tool lets users test scenarios for scaling OAE, a marine carbon dioxide removal method, alongside other climate strategies. It includes cost and uncertainty data based on current science. The new feature allows users to compare OAE with other carbon removal approaches, adjust policy and investment assumptions, and see instant results. En-ROADS has over 1.5 million users worldwide and has informed dozens of government and corporate climate decisions. This update makes OAE accessible to a broad audience without needing technical modeling skills. For carbon markets and climate finance professionals, this tool provides a way to evaluate OAE's potential role in meeting global removal targets. It helps clarify where OAE fits in a portfolio of solutions, which is useful for project developers, investors, and policymakers assessing carbon removal options.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Good to see OAE getting added to En-ROADS. That simulator is used by a lot of people who don't have time to run full Earth system models. Having OAE in there means more decision makers can actually test what it costs and what it takes to scale.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Agreed. The key is that it includes constraints and uncertainties, not just optimistic curves. Too many CDR tools skip the hard parts like energy input, mineral supply, and side effects. If this one is honest about those, it could be useful.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Curious what the cost range looks like in the model. Electrochemical OAE needs power. If the tool assumes cheap renewable electricity, that might not hold at scale. Would like to see the assumptions baked into the cost sliders.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The article says it covers both mineral and electrochemical approaches. Mineral based OAE has its own constraints like grinding and transport. The real test is whether users can see tradeoffs between cost, energy, and environmental risk in one view.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

For context, En-ROADS informed 58 policy or investment decisions between 2022 and 2025. That is not nothing. If this OAE module gets used in even a few of those settings, it could shape real funding and regulation.