Reflections on my trip to Carbon Unbound West

Last month, I was in Vancouver for Carbon Unbound West. While much of the carbon removal conversation over the last decade has been theoretical, this conference made one thing clear: we have moved firmly into the era of real-world deployment.

The most exciting development for me — besides a guest appearance by one of the actors from “Heated Rivalry” at the Canucks game I went to — was seeing how diverse industrial partnerships such as mining and power generation are now some of the primary engines helping our members scale their innovative technologies. The panels, outings, and even a site visit to one of our members helped orient me in this current moment in carbon removal. Here are some of my top takeaways from Unbound.

Mine-based carbon removal takes center stage

Mining carbon removal has immense promise, both from the scale of the mining sector — there are 28 billion metric tons of feedstocks available globally for this work — and the current policy landscape. Mining remains one of the few bipartisan issues in the United States, with the Department of Energy issuing over $1 billion in funding announcements for domestic critical mineral development. 

The conference this year began for me by facilitating a panel on mine-based carbon removal, bringing together site owners and carbon removal suppliers to talk about their work. The panelists emphasized the need to work collaboratively with the mining industry, understanding their needs and risk profiles. They also reiterated what the Carbon Removal Alliance has heard repeatedly from our member companies: policy will have a huge role to play in catalyzing the next wave of deployments on mine sites.

Biomass carbon removal is well suited to fit communities’ needs

The role of supportive policy environments was also discussed in the panel led by Charlotte Levy from Carbon180 about biomass carbon removal and storage. Although there are positive policy developments in Canada, the United States remains the center of gravity for biomass carbon removal. In fact, both panelists — Charm Industrial and MAST Reforestation — have active deployments in the United States.

These deployments showcase the diversity of technologies that utilize biomass, from bio-oil injection with abandoned oil wells, to biomass burial, to integrations with pulp and paper factories. Policies must be bespoke to each of these approaches, designed carefully and intentionally to spur and support a variety of approaches.

A Visit to Arca's Vancouver facility

There is no substitute for seeing technology up close. I started the week with a visit to Arca’s operations in British Columbia, where I saw firsthand how they are transforming mining coproducts into durable, scalable carbon removal. Arca is a leading carbon removal innovator that specializes in accelerating natural mineralization to transform industrial mine tailings into permanent carbon sinks.

The company partners directly with the mining industry, utilizing strategic collaborations at sites in Canada and Australia to integrate mineral extraction with large-scale carbon sequestration. Its technology represents a multibillion-dollar opportunity to revitalize the American mining sector by repurposing production streams into valuable climate assets.

The path forward

Carbon Unbound West reminded me of one of our central beliefs: policy work doesn't wait for political convenience, it builds it. By embedding carbon removal into the core of the global economy — mining, agriculture, and manufacturing — we can help scale carbon removal while showcasing the benefits to communities and lawmakers.

We’re coming home with fresh insights and a renewed commitment to ensuring the U.S. remains the best place in the world to build and deploy these essential technologies.