DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, announced today that it has been awarded a contract to perform audit services for Climate Vault, an award-winning non-profit founded at the University of Chicago, working on an innovative approach to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) .

Climate Vault’s method of helping organizations eliminate historical CO₂ emissions and reduce future emissions involves purchasing emission allowances from government-regulated compliance markets and “vaulting” these allowances to neutralize the carbon footprints of its contributors. With the support of Climate Vault’s Technology Experts Chamber, the value of the allowances will ultimately be used to support CDR technologies in removing CO₂ already in the atmosphere.

“Our latest estimates show that by 2050, North America will have reduced CO₂ emissions by 73% compared with 2019, but 1.58 GtCO₂ will remain, in contrast to the region’s pledge, explained Lucy Craig, Director of Growth, Innovation & Digitalization for Energy Systems at DNV.

To succeed in the transition to net-zero, we need to dramatically accelerate the establishment of carbon removal technologies and foster innovation in this field, Carbon capture, use and storage has proven to be a cost-effective solution for industrial decarbonization, and despite being often seen only as a transitional means of preventing fossil fuel carbon lock-in, it presents the advantage of being immediately available for deployment at scale. To scale up, some emerging CDR technologies still need to demonstrate their performance, and as an independent third party, we are uniquely positioned to assess these and give organizations the assurance they need to commit.”

“DNV’s audit and due diligence services will provide Climate Vault with the added confidence that we are selecting CDR technologies that are effective, impactful and generate proven results in removing carbon dioxide from our environment,” said Michael Greenstone, Co-Founder of Climate Vault and Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. “Partnering with DNV will allow us to streamline and hasten our CDR technology vetting process, so we can make important strides towards creating a cleaner future faster.”

DNV’s head of Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) Laith Amin said, “We are delighted to build on our long-standing international record of supporting verifiability in carbon capture marketplaces combined with independent qualification of technology performance. We look forward to aiding Climate Vault in building the trust needed for these innovations to be successful.”