NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

How do you measure the true climate impact of a carbon removal technology? With dozens of emerging approaches—from direct air capture to mineralization—investors, buyers, and policymakers need trustworthy data to separate promising solutions from unproven claims. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool for evaluating the full environmental footprint of CDR systems, but the results depend heavily on how the analysis is done. In this session, Boundless will walk through its recent LCA of an electrochemical salt splitting CDR system developed by EDAC Labs. The technology combines direct air capture and mineralization to store CO2 permanently, and the assessment reveals how factors like electricity sourcing, material inputs, and co-product handling affect net impact. Using this real-world case, we’ll show how LCA can bring much-needed transparency to the carbon removal space, and how rigorous analysis can support smarter investment and deployment decisions.

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT