Lithos Mid-Atlantic Facility

Audit Analysis

The Lithos Mid-Atlantic Facility is a new Enhanced Rock Weathering project at the validation stage with a confirmed investment additionality test, but the underlying removals model has significant scientific gaps (missing secondary effects and pH-dependent weathering rates) that raise serious over-crediting concerns. The absence of a buffer pool, an unaddressed leakage justification, and a project-specific baseline further weaken the integrity profile. Corrective actions are required before the next verification cycle, and the project should not be considered credit-ready until the model deficiencies are resolved.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The ERW model omits secondary effects on dissolution (supersaturation, clay formation, passivation) and pH-dependent weathering rates, as flagged in the validation report — a fundamental scientific gap that could materially overstate removals
• ⚠Leakage deduction is 0% with the justification recorded as 'not addressed' in the validation report, contradicting the PDD's claim that leakage was 'deemed negligible'
• ⚠No buffer pool is in place for a project type where mineral-form carbon storage, while more stable than biogenic carbon, still carries some reversal risk
• ⚠Six corrective actions are required, including a model upgrade to incorporate secondary effects and environmental factors per Methodology Section 8.1, before the next verification

Credit Vintages Exhausted