How the Next Big Thing in Carbon Removal Sunk Without a Trace Highlight

At first, Running Tide painted a vision of free-floating “micro forests” of seaweed seeded on biodegradable buoys, which would float in the ocean before sinking under their own weight, locking that carbon deep in the sea. Within nine months of his appearance in Akranes, though, that vision had morphed into something else: dumping around 25,000 tons of chemically treated Canadian wood chips off Iceland’s coast. Some ocean-carbon experts describe the work as “poor science fiction” that likely removed no atmospheric carbon while contributing to marine pollution. Ship-tracking data indicates that in the process, the startup likely violated the maritime rights of multiple countries.