The Spectacular Failure of the World’s First Marine Geoengineering Company

As the world fails to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, carbon removal has emerged as a favorite solution of Silicon Valley, garnering billions of dollars in investment since 2022.

U.S.-founded company Running Tide promised to heal the ocean with its large-scale marine geoengineering projects in the U.S. and Iceland, selling the world’s first-ever marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) credits to Microsoft, Stripe, and Spotify in a landmark deal.

But after abruptly shutting down operations and letting go nearly all their staff, the company is seeing its experiments and wider culture be called into question.

Was Running Tide a forerunner for ocean climate solutions or did it perpetuate fraud on the open seas? This project traces Running Tide’s meteoric rise and fall.