The NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE develops breakthrough technologies to convert CO2 emissions into usable products, and ISO/IEC 17020 accreditation plays a supporting role.
Recently, 350Solutions, an ANAB-accredited inspection body, expanded its scope of accreditation to include inspection of technologies that remove CO2 from production processes. A current application 350Solutions is inspecting and verifying under ISO/IEC 17020 captures CO2 from flue gas and uses it to make useful products. These inspections and verifications use the ISO 14034 environmental technology verification standard.
Products inspected by 350Solutions include concrete blocks that have CO2 sequestered in the concrete. The concrete blocks are then independently tested for performance to ensure they can be used for various types of construction.
Remote Witnessing of Inspection Activities
In spite of the limitations of operating during a global pandemic, ANAB was able to remotely witness inspections by 350Solutions in Wyoming. ANAB also remotely witnessed verification and traceability of the instrumentation, reference gases, and lab analyses being used to calibrate the measurement of CO2 utilization. The Wyoming team is one of six 350Solutions teams. Five teams in Canada also do work covered under ISO/IEC 17020.
This activity is in direct support of teams pursuing the Carbon XPRIZE. The competition began in 2015 and is in the final round, which ends in November 2020. Winners will be announced in 2021.
“We’re pleased to be able to achieve accreditation from ANAB that supports our efforts to evaluate innovative carbon utilization technologies” said Tim Hansen, Founder and CEO of 350Solutions. “Independent verification of technologies has been an important component of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition. Accreditation under ISO/IEC 17020 provides assurance that the data we provide regarding these innovations is high quality and credible.”
ANAB Support of Carbon XPRIZE Partner
For its part, ANAB welcomed the opportunity to support 350Solutions, an official measurement and verification partner of the Carbon XPRIZE, in its efforts.
The $20 million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE develops breakthrough technologies to convert CO2 emissions into usable products. The intent is to inspire development of new technologies to help solve climate change. The winning team will convert the most CO2 into products with the highest value. This will be determined by how much CO2 they convert and the net value of their products.
