Lithos Mid-West Facility

Audit Analysis

The Lithos Mid-West ERW project has a VVB-confirmed additionality test and a named verification body, but the validation report identifies seven material findings, most critically that the dissolution model omits secondary effects (supersaturation, clay formation, passivation) and pH-dependent weathering rates required by the methodology. No buffer pool, grievance mechanism, or FPIC process is documented, and the 0% leakage deduction rests on a thin 'deemed negligible' justification. The project is in its first monitoring period with corrective actions still open, so the credit base is not yet fully robust.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠ERW dissolution model missing secondary effects (supersaturation, clay formation, surface passivation) contrary to Methodology Section 8.1 — carbon removal estimates may be overestimated
• ⚠Weather rates affected by pH not fully modeled, a further gap in the dissolution physics
• ⚠No buffer pool or permanence mechanism documented for a 5-year crediting period
• ⚠No grievance mechanism and no FPIC process; stakeholder engagement gaps (missing mailing address, no anonymous feedback channel) flagged as material findings
• ⚠Total ERR claimed figure not found in any available document, preventing a pro-rata delivery check against the 2,362.92 tCO₂ verified for the first monitoring period

Credit Vintages Exhausted