Deep-mine carbon storage launched in Georgia
Carbon removal company Rewind has opened a commercial Deep Mine Storage (DMS) facility in Tkibuli, Georgia
This project adds to its global portfolio of carbon storage projects that use natural assets, such as forests, deep mines, sediments and marine basins.
The DMS facility is claimed to be the first of its kind in the world, and its approach involves storing plant biomass in a naturally anoxic (oxygen-free) environment to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, turning this into carbon credits.
Surplus plant matter, such as sawdust and wood offcuts from certified local sawmills, is collected, injected and sealed into underground chambers with mud, thereby storing the CO2 captured in it via photosynthesis.
Once the chambers are full, Rewind backfills the tunnels leading into them to prevent oxygen from entering and causing the biomass to decompose, ultimately locking away the carbon molecules. Without this intervention, decomposition of the biomass in open air would release whatever CO2 and methane it has captured into the atmosphere.
The company has reportedly used the process to successfully store 400t of carbon, and claims the facility has the capacity to scale to 50,000t of annual CO2 removal.
Rewind’s digital measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification system tracks every step of the process, so that the carbon removal credits issued can be independently and transparently verified.
The project has been launched in collaboration with Misha Sotckii, the mine's owner and manager, and Alexey Koroliov, Rewind’s Operations Manager in Georgia.
CEO Ram Amar writes, ‘…our DMS model delivers geological timescale permanence with minimal new build requirements and very low energy input – the energy efficiency of our approach is among the highest of any carbon removal method.’
The company also expects the work to create benefits for the Georgian economy with ‘dozens of jobs in operation, logistics and site management’, as well as local suppliers and contractors. It also claims it will contribute millions of dollars to the country’s GDP through related economic activity and long-term regional growth.
Rewind is seeking to build a global network of anoxic carbon storage sites, and is progressing carbon storage development sites in the Black Sea, alongside other projects aimed at storing biomass under river and port sediment.
