Sucking up CO2

Founded: 2017

HQ: Portland, ME

Kelp-farming carbon-sinking robots.

Big Picture

Oceans represent two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and are the main theater of war for climate change, even more than forests. From acidification to pollution to temperature rise, human activity has altered the ocean’s chemistry in ways that may not be undone even if we slash CO2 emissions from land-based sources. Reversing these impacts at scale requires technology that accelerates the ocean’s rejuvenation.

How It Works

We’ve been burning carbon from coal and oil into the atmosphere and oceans for decades. Running Tide reverses the cycle by sinking terrestrial biomass, growing kelp in the open ocean, and farming shellfish. Kelp “seeds” are grown on compressed wood-and-limestone buoys and released in the open ocean where they ultimately sink into the depths, storing away the embodied carbon for centuries. 

Unfair Advantage

By automating kelp and shellfish farming, Running Tide produces highly scalable and low-cost carbon removal as well as a nutritious, premium, and carbon-negative protein source as cheap as chicken nuggets. Neither kelp nor shellfish farming compete for land or coastal space and the unavoidable by-products of both are the restoration of marine habitats and large-scale carbon removal. 

37

Thousand gigatons

of CO2 stored in deep ocean reservoirs

MARTY ODLIN CEO & FOUNDER

Marty studied robotics at Dartmouth, managed a fleet of five fishing boats, and his family has been in the offshore fishing business for generations.

Follow: @martyodlin


Kill Godzilla. Heal the ocean. Eat more oysters.

Running Tide

Kelp is weirdly great at sucking carbon out of the sky

The Atlantic

What’s good for the ocean may also be good for business

The New York Times

Maine startup aims to pull carbon out of the atmosphere by growing — and then sinking — kelp farms

NPR