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Sapir Markus-Alford
Fig 1. Offshore of Dunedin, New Zealand, is where Gigablue’s research trial (GIGPA04) is proposed to take place within an area of interest (AOI) in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, primarily encompassing a portion of the Bounty Trough.
Image by Ravish Maqsood.
The Science, Verification, and Environmental Safeguards Behind Gigablue’s New Zealand Trials
Gigablue, a carbon capture and sequestration company, is preparing to conduct a research trial (GIGPA04) within New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone to evaluate its Puro.earth verified Microalgae Carbon Fixation and Sinking (MCFS) approach. This methodology is designed to restore ocean health by drawing down atmospheric CO2 through photosynthetic carbon capture within biodegradable 8mm pods known as Carbon-Carrier Pods. These pods are designed to remain in the upper ocean for a defined period of time (18 days) to support photosynthetic carbon capture before autonomously sinking rapidly through the water column, transporting carbon-rich biomass to the seabed where it is durably sequestered in the deep ocean for hundreds to thousands of years.
[EIA, Executive Summary]; [MCFS Technical Report, §1.3 p.5]
Unlike historical ocean fertilization experiments that disperse dissolved nutrients directly into the surface ocean, MCFS binds stable micronutrient oxides inside the Carbon-Carrier Pods to create a targeted and controlled environment for photosynthetic carbon capture. [MCFS Technical Report, §2.1, p.13]
By concentrating photosynthetic carbon capture within the Carbon-Carrier Pods, the MCFS approach is designed to inherently mitigate concerns associated with uncontrolled surface blooms observed in ocean fertilization experiments. [MCFS Technical Report, §1.4, p.8] Following deployment, the Carbon-Carrier Pods accumulate biomass and subsequently sink through the water column, transporting the captured carbon to depth. Rapid sinking pods reach roughly 1,000 m within ~24 hours, shortening the time available for the carbon-rich biomass to remineralize back into CO2, and minimizing any potential impact on the water column. [EIA, Executive Summary]
Specifically, ocean water properties and the current sinking rate of the Carbon-Carrier Pods are used to calculate an export efficiency of approximately 99% to the seabed, meaning that only about 1% of the carbon fixed at the surface is expected to be remineralized during transit through the water column. [MCFS Technical Report, §1.4, p.8] Moreover, the MCFS approach minimizes effects on marine life, and maximizes carbon removal during the sinking phase.
Fig 2. MCFS Flow Scheme depicts the three temporal stages of the methodology: fixation, export, and sequestration. The y-axis represents the water column depth, from carbon fixation at the surface (0 m) to durable carbon sequestration at the seabed (2,000 m), while the x-axis represents time since deployment. The governance and verification framework (right) highlights collaboration with government agencies, third-party certification partners, and science advisory boards.
An independent Environmental Impact Assessment commissioned from Tonkin & Taylor modelled a worst-case scenario including activities of a magnitude larger than the actual planned trial and concluded that residual effects on water chemistry, plankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals are expected to be low to negligible. [EIA, §7, p.37] Notably, in-situ eDNA monitoring reports that pods did not promote the proliferation of harmful algal bloom or pathogenic algal species following deployments [EIA, §6.1.4, p. 31].
The assessment does note some uncertainty around ingestion and behavioural responses, while still staying at a low impact level due to the size and use of biodegradable, non-toxic materials. [EIA, §6.1.2, p.30] Further experiments and monitoring are designed to address this matter. [EIA, §2.2, p.4-5] Deployment and settlement zones were selected specifically to avoid seabird hotspots and sensitive benthic habitats such as coral and sea pen fields. [EIA, §5.2.1, p.24-25]
Several modeled scenarios of Carbon-Carrier Pod deposition on the seabed, including a worst-case scenario, evaluated changes in dissolved oxygen consumption and revealed negligible, temporary effects. Under the representative scenario, dissolved oxygen decreased by approximately 0.55%, while the conservative worst-case scenario indicated a decrease of approximately 2.84%. [DO, p. 5] Both results are well below the NIWA established ecological threshold of a 20-30% reduction from background dissolved oxygen levels for the site-specific location and benthic faunal community. [MCFS Technical Report, §2.1, p. 14-15; §2.3, p. 22-23] Future research plans will incorporate long-term, in-situ monitoring and laboratory experiments to quantify dissolved oxygen consumption and replenishment rates and verify model performance. [MCFS Technical Report, §2.1, p. 15-16 §2.3, p. 24-25]
Fig 3. Gigablue’s research programme for the MCFS methodology follows a multi-experimental approach consisting of validation (left), pen (middle), and mesocosm (right) experiments to evaluate environmental impacts and verify methodology performance at every stage of research.
Beyond Carbon: Economic Contributions and Growth
Gigablue’s venture also carries potential economic benefits for host regions, including onshore and vessel-based jobs tied to both trial and future operational phases.
Independent analysis by Insight Economics, peer reviewed by NZIER, estimates the development phase would contribute $818 million to GDP and more than 5,000 full-time equivalent years of work. At operational scale, the annual contribution is projected at $585 million to GDP and around 4,000 ongoing jobs, concentrated in Otago and Southland.
Indigenous Collaboration: Gigablue working with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
For the field trials in the Great South Basin, Gigablue has been engaging with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu as activities are in their takiwā / tribal authority area. Gigablue also acknowledges the special relationship Ngāi Tahu has with this place and the ocean.
This ongoing engagement has covered a range of interests and is currently focused on innovation, research, and monitoring. Gigablue is supportive and keen to assist where it can in building, "a future where marine stewardship is led by iwi, informed by both science and mātauranga Māori." [Innovation and Data for Climate Change Solutions, p. 1–2]
A Staged, Data-Driven Approach to Scaling
Central to the company's approach is a staged research programme: small-scale trials first, with any adverse signals expected to surface and be acted on before activity scales up. [Research Plan, §1.1-2, p. 10-13] To do so, Gigablue developed a comprehensive in-situ Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MMRV) approach that operates across all stages of the MCFS methodology. The MMRV approach integrates remote sensing, echosounders, ROVs, specialized sensors, and benthic observations to monitor pod movement, carbon fixation, and sinking processes, as well as evaluate deep-sea environmental conditions [Research Plan, §2.1-3, p. 15-16] In addition to scaled research and field trials, deployment decisions are guided by five different models informed with years of historical data to quantify, monitor, and validate the performance and environmental safety of projects under the MCFS methodology. [MCFS Technical Report, §1.6, p. 11] Gigablue has said it is pursuing this work within New Zealand's regulatory framework in part because of the added scientific scrutiny that invites.
Ori Shaashua, Co-founder, CCO
CELLULOSE
99,9%
The particles are made almost entirely of a naturally occurring material [EIA, §3.1, p.6]
TESTED
Non-toxic
Independently verified by the Cawthron Institute through aquatic toxicity testing [EIA, §6.1.2, p.30]
SEQUESTRATION EFFICIENCY
99%
Only ~1% of captured carbon is lost on the way down to 1000m durable storage depth [MCFS Technical Report, §1.4, p.8]
N° OF INDEPENDENT MODELS
5
Deployment decisions are cross-validated using years of historical data, not a single method [MCFS Technical Report, §1.6, p. 11]
Sapir Markus-Alford, CTO
Taken together, these findings show that the MCFS methodology delivers carbon removal that is both safe and durable. The pods are biodegradable, non-toxic and made from naturally occurring material, verified through independent third-party testing. Once deployed, the system captures carbon with minimal loss over 99% efficiency and keeps it sequestered at depth for hundreds to thousands of years. Combining in-situ monitoring and multi-model validation, MCFS represents a scientifically robust and environmentally responsible approach to long-term carbon storage.
You can review the documentation and reporting at this link here.
