Enabling an emission free world!

In Italy, the frequency and intensity of droughts and extreme rainfalls are increasing due to the climate change. The impact on all over the world economies can be clearly seen by statistics (here and here).

A further increase of frequency and intensity of extreme events is expected with a global warming of 1.5°C.

A fast and drastic emission reduction combined with the application of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) processes is required to limit global warming, achieve global net 0 emission in 2050 and for limiting global temperature increase at levels that avoid catastrophic effects. The deployment of CDR processes is on the order of 100-1,000s billions of tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere in this century to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Limenet solution proposes an innovative technology to store CO2 in the form of bicarbonates in the sea. CO2 is one of the most relevant greenhouse gases whose emission is causing global warming and ocean acidification. The Limenet storage solution allows to avoid CO2 emission into the atmosphere and can be considered as a CO2 removal technology, if the stored CO2 is biogenic or atmospheric.

Another potential co-benefit of Limenet solution is to counteract indirectly ocean acidification, that is another global environmental issue caused by the increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration. The expected pH decrease due to the anthropogenic GHG emissions is unprecedented in the last 2 million years and it is a dangerous threaten for marine ecosystems with consequent relevant impacts on coastal population and economy.

Limenet technology replicates and accelerates the natural process of carbonate rocks weathering. The patented technology of Limenet consists of 3 modules: a gasifier, a calciner, and a mixer. In the process, the two raw materials are calcium carbonate and biomass residues. Through an industrial process involving the use of an oxycombustion gasifier and an indirect calciner, biogenic CO2 is obtained from biomass, and calcium carbonate is transformed into a more reactive element. Subsequently, these two materials are conveyed into the mixer where, using seawater, a natural chemical reaction is replicated, namely the transformation of CO2 and slaked lime into calcium bicarbonates. These calcium bicarbonates are ions, meaning they are not visible in water, and once injected into the sea, they help counteract ocean acidification. The bicarbonates-rich marine solution has the same pH of the natural seawater collected and has higher alkalinity. The alkalinity is one of the essentials for calcifiers and other marine organisms whose existence is threatened by ocean acidification. Limenet marine solution is able to store thousands of tonnes of CO2 in a chemical stable form that lasts for more than thousands of years and at the same time counteracts indirectly ocean acidification locally for the benefit of marine ecosystems and the local community living on the coast.

The Limenet solution is a technology that tackles climate change. The technology is useful for the decarbonization of industries from the “hard-to-abate” sectors such as cement and lime producers allowing to have in the market carbon-free products enabling an emission-free society for consumers and producers. Otherwise, if CO2 is biogenic or atmospheric, the generated negative emissions help the society to achieve global climate target of emissions reduction to limit global warming to levels that avoid catastrophic effects on the whole world population.

Furthermore, the generated marine bicarbonates rich solution counteracts indirectly ocean acidification that is another global environmental issue. The contrast to ocean acidification protects marine life ensuring the development of the communities living in the nearby of the Limenet plants that will be located on the coast.

The study of the climate change and its likely catastrophic effects have pushed the Limenet team to action. Furthermore, Italy is a hotspot of the climate change effects, such as the decrease of glaciers extent in the Alps due to the higher temperature at high altitudes and the drought of these last years with consequent effects on local communities and economy. Living in a hotspot of climate change effects pushes to action and to increase the awareness of the population.

 At now, we are operating in the Italian community of Augusta, with which we share the same culture and we are exposed to the same climate hazards. In Augusta because we have a local supplier that got us in contact with the local authorities and associations. Thanks to this contact, we presented our technology to the local authority and once got their approval to continue with the project we decided together where to locate the plants. Thanks to this dialogue, we have been able to understand better the local community needs and incorporate them in our strategy. Moreover, before starting the operations, in collaboration with the Local Authority of Augusta, we have organized a public event for scientific dissemination on climate change and to present Limenet’s technology functioning. During this moment citizens could freely ask questions on our solution, helping us to understand their doubts and how to address them. We will replicate this event also in schools with engage with younger generations.

The development of Limenet plants is also done by talking with local communities or, in general, obtain any kind of constructive feedback. In fact, any person can contact Limenet through the email or by phone and clarify their doubts. In addition, Limenet is very close to the people and even before the construction of the facilities makes the local people participate the project through the organization of events in order to present the company’s plans and receive their return feedback.

We have completed a prototype plant in La Spezia (Italy) for verifying the permanence of the stored bicarbonates. The results on the chemical stability of bicarbonates in the sea were positive. Now, we are doing further experiments on the response of marine organisms to the marine bicarbonates solution in La Spezia (Italy).

We are also implementing a pilot plant in Augusta (Italy). The plant will be capable of storing 200kg of CO2 per hour. In the framework of this project, we had also a meeting with citizens of Augusta (Italy) when presenting Limenet and we received a positive welcome from the population. The meeting with local communities aims to improve awareness of the population about climate change to make them participants of the Limenet solution.

We have already concluded a first round of equity investments totalling 500k €.

We find in Solve a huge opportunity to validate the viability of our business model, and to get in contact with other Solver teams and partners that have a positive impact on the climate and on the ocean to foster possible collaborations and create a strong network.

Our goal is to leverage this growth pathway to obtain feedback and insights that can help to confirm our strategy or tune it better, especially focusing on the feasibility of our business plan, on strategies to scale up our business, and on the improvement of the measurement of Limenet’s impact on environment and society.

By establishing these partnerships with solve network, we aim to expand our reach and scale our impact, working collectively towards a sustainable future for our planet.

The main innovative aspect introduced by Limenet regards the storage of the carbon dioxide. Limenet has industrialized the natural process of rock weathering by developing an innovative process able to store CO2 in a solution of marine bicarbonates. The scientific community agrees on the stability of calcium bicarbonates for at least 10,000 years.

This solution is also innovative since no other companies in the world is using this kind of technology and represents a valid alternative to the current most advanced technology that is the storage in geological formations. The Limenet solution is modular, which makes it easily replicable, and almost deployable everywhere along the coast offering a tailor-made solution for different places, while the geological storage has some drawbacks such as the uneven geographical distribution in the world.

Another innovative aspect is the technology of the calciner, i.e., a kiln that utilizes the heat generated by the oxy-combustion of a syngas obtained from the biomass gasification to calcine limestone. This technological solution allows to avoid the use of fossil fuels for calcination, that are currently used as energy sources for the calcination. Moreover, the calciner can be fed with small calcium carbonate particles bigger than 1 millimeter. These particles are typically discarded because conventional calciners are unable to use them for technical reasons.

Furthermore, blockchain technology is used for tracking the whole supply chain of the stored CO2 by ensuring a robust monitoring, reporting and verification framework for the validity of the stored CO2.

The immediate output of Limenet solution is the storage of CO2 in the form of marine bicarbonates that lasts for 10,000 years. Limenet solution offers a safe method for storing CO2 and compensate the emissions of any kind of industries forced to reduce their GHG emissions accordingly to current climate policy. The permanent removal of CO2 through the storage of biogenic or atmospheric CO2 allows to have an effective contrast to climate change. A strong effect on climate change will be achieved when Limenet reaches its goals of storing mega or giga tons of CO2.

The purchase of carbon credits will also enable companies to sell in the market carbon-free goods for consumers and producers, because the producers could completely offset their remaining emissions (after other decarbonization projects) through the carbon credits of Limenet.

The addition of alkalinity to the sea in the form of bicarbonates helps indirectly counteracting the global environmental problem of ocean acidification. In fact, bicarbonates act as a buffer solution that slows the acidification of the seas and oceans caused by high CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. The outcome is to protect marine environment restoring and safeguarding the development of marine organisms with consequent beneficial effects on coastal society and its economy.

Using the Theory of Change methodology, Limenet has defined the positive impact it wants to generate on the environment and society. Through its activities, in the medium term Limenet aims to contribute at:

Reducing CO2 from the atmosphere (KPI -> short term: Gton of CO2 stocked per year, medium term: cumulated Gton CO2 stocked)

Mitigating ocean acidification (KPI -> short term: kton/year bicarbonates injected in the sea, medium term:  evenness indices, diversity index to measure the effects of Limenet’s technology on plankton and benthos)

Decarbonizing of industries: (KPI -> short term:  % change in the number of certificates of negative emission issued compared with the previous year; medium term: cumulative number of contracts realized by Limenet with companies in the hard-to-abate sectors)

Advancing scientific knowledge on marine Carbon and Dioxide Removal technologies (KPI -> short term: 1) % of profit invested in research activities 2) number of internal people in the R&D area 3) number of ongoing collaborations with universities and research centers 4) Cumulative number of scientific papers published by internal projects and Limenet collaborations; medium term: cumulative number of scientific publications on marine CDR caried at an international level)

Increasing the accessibility of climate science and building a transparent dialogue with the local community (KPI -> short term: 1) Number of events organized in the communities in which Limenet operates, 2) number of schools that join Limenet’s scientific dissemination projects, 3) number of reproductions and views of our content, 4) number of scientific publications in collaboration with communication agencies; medium term 1) number of followers of our social pages, 2) cumulative number of viewers at science outreach events promoted by Limenet, 3) Percentage changes in complaints received over the years by the local community)

In the long term, with Limenet aims to benefit society and the environment by contrasting climate change and to contribute to cultural change and create shared awareness of the challenge of climate change and possible solutions to mitigate it. 

The applied technologies are the limestone calcination combined with biomass gasification and the storage system.

Inside the gasifier the biomass is gasified in a oxygen controlled environment. This allows the generation of a syngas that is later used inside the calciner as a source of energy and as a source of biogenic CO2 inside the final dissolution phase.

The calciner, which does not consume fossil fuels, has been studied to work fine particles that otherwise will be considered as waste and used only as material for quarries reclamation and as a filling material. This adds a huge value to this material. The product of calcination will be calcium hydroxide that is later hydrated in order to produce a calcium hydroxide slurry.

The storage system consists of a pipeline system where CO2 will react with water and calcium hydroxide slurry to be finally stored in the form of calcium bicarbonates. Those bicarbonates are injected into the sea/ocean.

Blockchain technology is applied for monitoring and certifying the carbon credit furthermore tracking life cycle GHG emissions for robust credit that certifies net removal ensuring transparency for credit beneficiaries.

13 full time, 4 part time, 3 PhD students, 5 contractors and 7 members of the scientific committe.

The team members have been studying and developing the technology for 5 years. The idea was born from a research project (DESARC-MARESANUS) developed by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Milano and Centro Euro-Mediterraneo dei Cambiamenti Climatici (Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change) and funded by Amundi. From DESARC-MARESANUS research project and other research activities in different departments of Politecnico di Milano, the start-up Limenet was founded in 2023. 

Limenet is committed to promoting gender equality within its team, aiming for an equal distribution of roles and salaries between men and women. We currently have three women in the team, four since the first of June and two more in partnership in work for equity and VAT. Our company embraces an inclusive corporate culture, characterized by the presence of talent from different parts of the world. This makes for an international working environment. Furthermore, our team offers a diverse set of experiences and knowledge from different study and work backgrounds. With an average age of under 35 and most of the team under 30, Limenet represents a young and dynamic environment. We work continuously to create ever a more diverse and inclusive group with the common desire and aim of taking action against climate change that exacerbates also gender gap and poverty.

Limenet provide on the voluntary market high quality carbon credits with a storage period over 10,000 years addressing B2B actors through brokers specialized in buying and selling carbon credits. The carbon credits are also offered to anyone that wants to reduce their carbon footprint in the aim of a more responsible production and consumption.

For potential private customers interested in offsetting their emissions, Limenet will introduce a shop on its website where negative emission credits can be purchased. Finally, it is expected that the uniqueness of Limenet's technology will generate widespread word of mouth globally and in the carbon negative emission sector.

A real-time monitoring system using blockchain technology is used to ensure the effective storage of the CO2 sold to customers.

To ensure effective market penetration of the new product, Limenet outlined a marketing strategy aimed at highlighting its distinctive innovative features. The company differentiates itself from competitors by offering high quality CO2 credits, with a guarantee of permanence of stored CO2 of at least 10,000 years and a certified process in accordance with ISO 14064-2.

In order to increase brand recognition and to effectively communicate the value of its products and highlight the positive impact on the environment, Limenet is relying on a communications office to help in the dissemination of company milestones to the media. With respect to the marketing strategy, we have social campaigns aimed at raising awareness of climate change and promoting Limenet's technology as a solution to corporate CO2 credits to offset its emissions. Limenet will also manage social media accounts (LinkedIn, Instagram) to inform the public about company progress. Although not aimed at selling credits, active participation in relevant environmental events, such as the EGU (European Geoscience Union) in Vienna, is planned to clearly communicate research supporting the technology to the scientific community. Limenet will also organize events to showcase its achievements, including a demonstration event for the operation of its TRL 7-level plant under construction in Augusta, where investors, industrial partners, and media outlets will be invited.

 The involvement of local municipalities is pivotal to the development of Limenet solution for increasing the awareness of communities about the climate change and to have strong local partnerships to obtain operating and construction permissions. The suppliers of the raw materials and energy with brokers and registry partners are essential actors in the development of the Limenet solution. 

In the future, in order to achieve exponential growth in sales and reach the target of gigatonnes of negative emissions, Limenet's business model will be based on the establishment of one or more SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles) for the financial and operational management of the plants. In this case, Limenet will take care of the EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) of the plant and the SPV will be responsible for project financing and operational management. Limenet will sell the plant to the SPV with all the knowledge needed to manage it (contracts with suppliers and customers, certifications, operating procedures, maintenance plans). The SPV will generate negative emission credits that will be sold on the voluntary market. Limenet will receive 5% to 7% of the SPV's revenues as royalties for the use of the proprietary technology and 15% of CAPEX in the first year for the EPC service offered to the SPV.

The future step to become financially sustainable are:

• The achievement of the certification according to the ISO norm 14064-2 in order to produce certified carbon credits.
• The scalability improvement for achieving the first full plant of 4,000 tonnes of CO2 stored per year.
• The realization of a plant with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of CO2 stored per year.

In the first year, we have already concluded a first round of equity investments totaling 500k € and now we have received equity investments totalling 1 Mln euros.

At the moment we only have a 1000 tonnes co2 sales contract at a price of $600/tonne