Plan Sea: Ocean Interventions to Address Climate Change · Wil Burns and Anna Madlener

Mike Kelland of Planetary Technologies on Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Policy and Community Engagement

·1 hr 8 min·5 clips

Mike Kelland reveals how his software background led to founding a startup pioneering ocean alkalinity enhancement for carbon removal.

Mike Kelland, CEO of ocean alkalinity enhancement startup Planetary Technologies, joins hosts Anna Madlener and Will Burns on the Plan C podcast. The episode explores Planetary's technology and business model for removing atmospheric carbon dioxide via the ocean. Kelland details his software background and his 2019 founding of the company with Dr. Greg Rau, an expert in the marine carbon cycle. Planetary's process involves adding alkalinity to seawater to accelerate its natural carbon absorption, with a byproduct of producing green hydrogen. The company originated as Planetary Hydrogen, reflecting this dual-output focus. Kelland explains they are currently operating pilot projects in Halifax, Canada, and Cornwall, United Kingdom. A key operational challenge is responsibly sourcing the minerals required for alkalinity production at a global scale. The discussion covers the need for vast quantities of materials like olivine or industrial residues to achieve gigaton-scale carbon removal. Kelland argues that treating the ocean as a uniform system is a flawed approach for modeling impacts. He emphasizes that local environmental monitoring is critical for any deployment. The company's strategy involves partnering with existing coastal infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment plants, for alkalinity distribution. A surprising claim is that their process could potentially help address local ocean acidification in addition to global carbon removal. Kelland states that the green hydrogen byproduct could subsidize the carbon removal cost, improving economics. He positions ocean alkalinity enhancement not as geoengineering but as a restoration of pre-industrial ocean chemistry. The conversation notes the complex regulatory landscape governing ocean interventions across different jurisdictions. The tone is technical and entrepreneurial, focused on practical deployment hurdles and business development. The style is an interview-driven conversation, with hosts posing detailed, critical questions about scale and environmental safety. Listeners interested in climate tech startups and marine carbon removal pathways will find this episode valuable. Those seeking a deep dive into the fundamental ocean chemistry or broader ethical debates may find the discussion too commercially focused.

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