Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

This project was founded in February 2021, by bringing together two of the world‚ most impactful climate change partners, API and CCM. As advisors and investors in both enterprises, Alliance Technologies was shocked by the sudden deaths of co-founders from each organization in April 2020 and August 2019, respectively. These tragedies understandably devastated the companies, but has also fueled our conviction to realize a successful outcome.

First, we generate growth of new biomass through the wide-scale planting of indigenous, fruit bearing, trees. This carbon-negative biomass is then used to fuel combined heat and power (CHP) biogas digesters that further reduce carbon emissions by displacing fossil fuel heat and power alternatives.

The remaining CO2 emissions from the biogas CHP engines are then captured and converted to carbon-negative products that further reduce carbon emissions by displacing existing carbon-intensive products (i.e., precipitated calcium carbonates used in cement, plastic, food, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, etc.).

Finally, this already powerfully carbon-negative cycle is further enhanced by utilizing the byproducts of the various processing stages to create additional valuable carbon-negative products (i.e., C-Lignin, biochar, graphene, fertilizer, etc.). 

By creating new, and regularly regenerating, carbon-negative biomass sources, we ensure a perpetually carbon-negative source of fuel. The circularity and carbon-negativity of the model is further enhanced by capturing the remaining CO2 emissions and other processing byproducts from the biogas digester and converting the captured CO2 and byproducts to carbon-negative valuable products that permanently sequester the carbon.

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Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The API oil crop farms and the refinery create new jobs in countries whose unemployment rate is over 30%. The company trains local farmers toward better farm practices and hence an improvement on the largely stressed food security situation in the region. By encouraging community participation /ownership, the project has significant impact on the livelihood of various sections of society such as the Landless Youth, Poor Women-Headed Households, Active Aged People and Schools

The project has an incredibly a positive impact on the environment as it reduces the reliance on fossil fuels and leads to an increased sustainability in the fuel supply chain. Due to the higher combustion efficiency of the bio-diesel, there will be less pollution resulting from the operation of engines, and the localization also reduces the distances for the fuel to be transported from source to consumer service stations. The Project activity will provide a lifeline for the treatment of the water catchments that feed into the Tekeze hydropower dam in Ethiopia located some 70Km down the Areqa river valley that drains the Hozo tree nursery establishment of the project activity.


The land falls under the categories warm temperate dry and severe and very severe land degradation , being a degraded savannah that has been subjected to continued degradation, especially over the last few decades. Our project has contributed strongly to the sustainability of the agricultural activities in the country as it provides the farmers involved in the project with an additional income, creates a local source of affordable high-quality biodiesel that lessens the regional dependence on imported fossil fuels, directly removes CO2 from the atmosphere, and reduces the combustion of fossil fuels through the production of biofuel, biomass, and related byproducts.

The project participants will work closely together, and with external stakeholders, to integrate all perspectives into the design and operational considerations. Site specifications will also be taken into consideration to ensure adequate storage, access, and regulatory requirements are met. The multi-criteria selection process for offtake customers for the eco-PCC byproduct will also be integrated into our overall process definition, so that we can more efficiently identify suitable locations, barriers, and/or customized requirements for future CCM (CCUS) installations.

API‚ efforts have already resulted in the reforestation of over 400,000 hectares of oilseed-bearing trees that sequester CO2 for over 70 years, thereby reversing the trend of land degradation, mitigating environmental degradation, and providing commercial value to farmers from selling harvested oil seeds to API. 

The project contributes to economic sustainability as the locally produced biodiesel reduces fuel imports and the concomitant demand on foreign exchange. Growth of the industrial sector which leads to import substitution is a major focus of the national Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). The project is also a revolutionary venture which will have a transformative impact on the economic development of communities like Tanqua, Abergelle and Karamoja which have hitherto been largely unproductive in Ethiopia and Uganda, respectively.

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