seeing green

Houston researchers launch 2 nature-based carbon credit projects

Both projects will seek to develop “tracking and evaluation systems for the emerging nature-based carbon credit market.” Photo via Getty Images

A team at Rice University has announced plans for two research projects that will focus on nature-based carbon credits.

The George R. Brown School of Engineering and the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center reported that the projects will be funded through a gift from Emissions Reduction Corp. with the goal of advancing global decarbonization through a series of carbon sequestration, avoidance and reduction projects.

Both projects will seek to develop “tracking and evaluation systems for the emerging nature-based carbon credit market” according to a news release.

“The Rice School of Engineering is very interested in research into nature-based engineering solutions,” Luay Nakhleh, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering and a professor of computer science and biosciences at Rice, says in the release. “For too long, we have used nature as a platform but not as a partner. This research will hopefully open the door on a new era of nature-based engineering. Moreover, this is a very timely initiative as bringing science to bear on the emergent carbon credit economy is of critical importance to meeting the challenges of a changing climate.”

For the first project, which is expected to take six months, the SSPEED Center will be commissioning the design of a digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) system for tracking nature-based carbon credits using satellite and drone imagery to monitor coastal blue carbon projects, soil, and forest projects.

The direct input of this data into blockchain and other record-keeping technologies will be the main part of the system. .A Houston-based local nonprofit carbon registry BC Carbon, and blockchain provider Change Code will also take part in the research.

The second project will see the SSPEED Center undertake hydrologic computer modeling, and take 12 to 18 months to complete. This will help determine the effectiveness of restoring native prairie grasslands as a flood control technique where a portion of the Brazos River will be modeled relative to predict increases in the frequency of “100-year floods” via climate change. Overall, it will evaluate whether prairie restoration funded via soil carbon credits could mitigate flooding risk, which could eliminate the need to raise the 30 miles of levees in Fort Bend County downstream of the carbon project. The George Foundation,BCarbon, and Fort Bend County Flood Control District will work together on this project.

“Using nature to solve flooding problems has been discussed but seldom executed at the level of a major river system,” Herman Brown Professor of Engineering and SSPEED Center director at Rice Phillip Bedient adds. “We are excited that carbon credits and prairie restoration might break open this nature-based flood engineering area.”

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A View From HETI

Cemvita has named a new leader in Brazil. Photo via cemvita.com

Houston industrial biotech company Cemvita has announced two strategic moves to advance its operations in Brazil.

The company, which utilizes synthetic biology to transform carbon emissions into valuable bio-based chemicals, acquired a complementary technology that expands its IP and execution of scale-up capacity, according to a news release. The acquisition will bring additional synthetic biology toolsets that Cemvita believes will assist with compressing and commercializing timelines.

The company also appointed Luciano Zamberlan as vice president of operations based in Brazil.

Zamberlan will lead operational execution, site readiness and early commissioning activities in Brazil. He brings more than 20 years of experience in biotechnology to the role. He recently served as director of engineering at Raízen, Brazil’s largest ethanol producer and the world’s largest producer of sugarcane ethanol. At Raízen, he coordinated the implementation of four greenfield plants and oversaw operational teams and process optimization for second-generation ethanol (E2G) and biogas.

“I am very pleased to join Cemvita, a company at the forefront of transforming waste into valuable, sustainable resources,” Zamberlan said in the release. “My expertise in scaling-up innovation, coupled with my experience in structuring and commissioning greenfield industrial operations, is perfectly aligned with Cemvita's mission and I'm eager to bring my energy and drive to accelerate Cemvita's industrial performance and contribute for a circular future.”

Cemvita expanded to Brazil in January to help capitalize on the country’s progressive regulatory framework, including Brazil’s Fuel of the Future Law, enacted in 2024. The law mandates an increase in the biodiesel content of diesel fuel, starting from 15 percent in March and increasing to 20 percent by 2030. It also requires the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and for domestic flights to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 percent starting in 2027, growing to 10 percent reduction by 2037.

“These steps enable us to augment Brazil’s longstanding bioindustrial ecosystem with next-generation capabilities, reducing early commercialization risk and expanding optionality for future product platforms,” Marcio Silva, CTO of Cemvita, said in the news release. “Together, they strengthen our ability to move from proof-of-concept to industrial reality.”

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