Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) Engineering Award

Request for Proposals to develop prototypes of new tools, technologies, and processes that could enable safe, cost-efficient, and scalable Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) as a method for large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

Administrator: Additional Ventures in partnership with Ocean Visions and a consortium of philanthropic funders

Geographic Scope: Global

Focus Areas: Development of supporting technologies for OAE, including:

Technology Categories Sought:

• Deployment mechanisms: Efficiently prepare and/or disperse alkaline substances into seawater (mechanical hardware, chemical processes, etc.)
• Integration technologies: Designs, technologies, and software to integrate OAE into existing marine and coastal industries such as:
  • Transoceanic shipping
  • Desalination
  • Offshore wind
  • Commercial fishing
• Monitoring & verification: Sensors and platforms to support monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of OAE

Award Details:

• Development timeline: ≤18 months
• Award amount: ≤$1.5M per project
• Project scope: Both laboratory-scale and field-testable prototypes accepted

What They Fund:

• Proof-of-concept prototype development
• Testing in laboratory environment or intended deployment environment

Program Context: Part of the Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement R&D Program designed to accelerate understanding of OAE as a potential large-scale CDR method. Complements the OAE Research Award (which assesses whether OAE can safely and permanently sequester atmospheric CO2 at scale).

Scientific Justification: IPCC suggests that even aggressive emissions reduction will require carbon dioxide removal of 100–1000 billion tons of CO2 before end of 21st century. Ocean-based CDR approaches that build on natural ocean processes are among the most promising.

Alignment: Aligns with Ocean Visions' ocean-based CDR Road Maps (established 2021) which outline key research, testing, and evaluation needs.

Application Process

Pre-Proposal Stage:

• Deadline: 11:59pm PT on August 5, 2022 (CLOSED)
• Format: Concise pre-proposals
• Content requirements: Describe plan to develop proof-of-concept prototype of tool, technology, or process that can assist in monitoring, verification, or deployment of OAE
• Specifications to include:
  • How prototype will be developed and tested (≤18 months)
  • Budget (≤$1.5M)
  • How technology could be further developed and scaled to global impact

Full Proposal Stage:

• Selected applicants (subset of pre-proposal submissions) invited to submit full proposals
• Full proposal framework provided at that time

Review Process:

• Pre-proposals reviewed by qualified expert committee convened by Ocean Visions
• Independent expert evaluation
• Ocean Visions makes final award decisions

Informational Webinar:

• Date: June 9, 2022, 8am-9am PDT / 11am-12pm EDT
• Purpose: Learn about OAE Engineering Award and ask questions about RFP process

Note: This RFP deadline has passed as of the extraction date (April 3, 2026).