In the spring of 2024, BAI teamed up with McLean Contracting to perform one of the world’s largest operational carbon removal pilot projects. The project, performed for environmental client Vesta, required precise placement of over 8,000 tons of crushed olivine sand in the coastal waters off Duck, NC. There, the USACE’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory’s Field Research Facility will monitor the olivine sand’s integration into the native beaches and its effectiveness at Coastal Carbon Capture. This process is intended to accelerate the process of Weathering, one of the Earth’s natural carbon removal processes. The olivine sand gradually absorbs carbon suspended in seawater as it dissolves into silicate, bicarbonate and magnesium, while also reducing harmful acidity of the ocean, benefitting marine ecosystems and enhancing the oceans’ natural capacity to absorb additional carbon from the atmosphere. As the ocean draws further carbon from the atmosphere, olivine sand continues to absorb and encapsulate this carbon, permanently storing it in naturally occurring calcium carbonate. Should this pilot program deliver the anticipated results, olivine sand could be deployed at a large enough scale to provide a twofold benefit to coastal communities; by capturing carbon naturally while olivine is used to rebuilding coastal beaches and mitigate erosion of natural dunes. BAI successfully placed over 8,000 tons of material in a precise corridor utilizing state of the art GPS positioning systems and multiple tugs to align with targets determined by the project Owner.