Climate solutions provider ClimeFi announced that it has structured the first publicly announced transaction for carbon removal units aligned with the CRCF framework, the new EU standard for certification of carbon removal projects.

Under the new transaction, Nasdaq and financial technology platform Adyen will receive CRCF-aligned carbon removal units from Beccs Stockholm, a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BioCCS) project operated by Stockholm Exergi.

The transaction follows the adoption earlier this year by the European Commission of its first set of voluntary certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals under its 2024 Carbon Farming and Carbon Removals (CRCF) Regulation, aimed at establishing an EU-level certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products, and to create a certification system to quantify, monitor and verify carbon removals, and to counter greenwashing.

The first certification methodologies under the CRCF included Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage (DACCS), Biogenic Emissions Capture with Carbon storage (BioCCS) and Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR). The Commission said that the first three technologies were selected based on their technological maturity and potential contribution to the EU’s climate objectives. The methodologies establish voluntary rules for carbon removals, including definitions for what counts as a tonne of removal, how permanence must be ensured, and how the key risks such as leakages and liabilities are addressed.

Paolo Piffaretti, CEO and Co-Founder at ClimeFi said:

“From structuring the first Article 6.2 transfers in the carbon removal market last year to coordinating the first publicly announced carbon removal CRCF transaction, we are very proud to be shaping policy at the European level. We hope to remain at the forefront of the CRCF market as it continues to develop.”

Stockholm Exergi building a bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) facility at its bio-cogeneration plant at Värtan, Stockholm, bringing together a bioenergy-based combined heat and power plant fueled by residues from forestry, sawmill and pulp and paper production, with a carbon capture and storage process that captures CO2 in the plant’s flue gases, and cools and compresses it into liquid form, for transport and permanent storage. The facility has already attracted large-scale carbon removal offtake agreements with Microsoft and carbon removal coalition Frontier on behalf of buyers including Alphabet, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, and H&M, among others. The facility is planned to be operational in 2028, and when completed is expected to be able to capture up to 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Anders Egelrud, CEO at Stockholm Exergi said:

“This initiative demonstrates the trust that European buyers have in both the Beccs Stockholm project and the CRCF framework for meeting their own climate ambitions. We believe we are well positioned to be among the first permanent CDR projects to have CRCF units issued.”

According to ClimeFi, the establishment of a buyers collective, including Nasdaq and Ayden, will enable pooling of due diligence, contracting and monitoring, which will allow buyers of any size access to CRCF units from BECCS Stockholm with standardized, competitive terms. ClimeFi will monitor the progression of the Beccs Stockholm project through the stages of CRCF certification to issuance and delivery of the units.

Ella Douglas, Global Sustainability Lead at Adyen said:

“At Adyen, we focus on initiatives that support catalytic impact in the voluntary carbon removal market. This project does exactly that while also building key market infrastructure in collaboration with the European Commission.”