Core Concept
QET-CCS: Tokenized Carbon Capture & Storage Energy Attribute Certificates
A QET-CCS is how Greentruth makes the attributes of a specific carbon capture and storage project portable, machine-readable, and audit-defensible — in a form that plugs into a buyer's net-zero strategy alongside Scope 1 / Scope 2 / Scope 3 abatement. This page explains what a QET-CCS is, what it carries, what frameworks it aligns to, and what it is not.
QET-CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage Energy Attribute Certificate). A tokenized CCS Energy Attribute Certificate issued on the EarnDLT registry (on Hedera Hashgraph) and verified to ISO 14064-3 reasonable assurance. The token is a CCS attribute certificate — not a carbon credit, not an offset — and does not transfer Scope 1 emissions between parties. Its attribute structure is sufficient to satisfy public CCS-EAC frameworks emerging in the market, such as the NorthBridge CCS-EAC Standard (October 2025) or Google's CCS-EAC framework, as exemplary reference points.
Request a Demo
See a QET-CCS in a Sample Net-Zero Stack
Request a demo and we will walk through a QET-CCS alongside QET-NG, QET-RNG, and QET-ELEC in a sample net-zero residuals plan — its CCS Energy Attribute Certificate structure, the framework-portable export, and the retirement record your auditor will inspect.
What Is a QET-CCS?
A QET-CCS is a registry-grade Energy Attribute Certificate representing verified, project-specific CCS attributes — captured, transported, and geologically stored carbon dioxide — tied to a defined project and verifier. It is the CCS extension to Greentruth's QET family, sitting alongside QET-NG, QET-RNG, and QET-ELEC.
Each token is issued once, retired once, and recorded on the EarnDLT registry — single-mint enforced and irrevocably retired on-chain. The retirement record is what a buyer's auditor inspects: it links a specific verified CCS attribute to a specific neutralization claim, with no possibility of double issuance or double claiming.
Greentruth issues the certificate on top of EarnDLT's tokenization infrastructure. It is delivered to the holder's wallet in both PDF and JSON form, then portable for reporting, retirement, or transfer — like any other QET.
What the Token Carries: Storage Permanence, Project Provenance, Verifier of Record
The token carries the attributes a buyer, auditor, or framework export needs to make a credible CCS attribute claim. At minimum:
- Project provenance. The specific CCS project, operator, and storage formation — including the geological storage site identifier — anchored on-chain.
- Capture source and pathway. Where the captured CO₂ came from (industrial source, direct air capture, or other) and the chain of custody through transport to injection.
- Storage permanence attribute. The classification of permanence the project carries under the underlying standard, including monitoring obligations and any reversal-risk treatments.
- MRV tier. Where the underlying measurement data sits in the methodology's data hierarchy, consistent with how Greentruth handles MRV tiers across the QET family.
- Methodology version. The exact methodology and version used to produce the values, recorded as a token attribute so framework exports can be reconstructed.
- Verifier of record. The accredited third-party that signed off on the underlying data under ISO 14064-3 reasonable assurance.
For project-level technical specifics — capture source treatment, transport boundary conditions, geological monitoring obligations, and the durability treatment under the underlying standard — the long-form methodology is the authoritative reference.
Read the long-form methodology
Designed to Satisfy CCS Energy Attribute Certificate Frameworks
The token is built to be portable into any CCS attribute framework the buyer's market recognizes — not bound to a single proprietary scheme. Its attribute structure (project provenance, capture source, chain of custody, storage permanence, MRV tier, methodology version, verifier of record) is designed to satisfy the requirements of public CCS Energy Attribute Certificate frameworks that have emerged in the market.
Two examples worth knowing about, purely as illustrative reference points:
- NorthBridge CCS Energy Attribute Certificate Standard (October 2025). One of the public CCS-EAC standards that defines an attribute schema and integrity expectations for issuance, transfer, and retirement. The token carries the attributes a CCS-EAC of this kind contemplates.
- Google's CCS-EAC framework. Major corporate buyers — Google among them — have published their own internal CCS-EAC framework expectations for procurement and disclosure. The token carries the attribute structure required to feed that kind of framework on a machine-readable basis.
Citing these is not a claim of partnership or affiliation; they are exemplary cases in a fast-evolving CCS-EAC market that illustrate what a credible CCS attribute certificate is expected to carry. The point is portability: a registry-grade CCS attribute certificate whose attributes any CCS-EAC framework can recognize.
How a QET-CCS Fits into a Net-Zero Stack
The token is for the neutralization at residuals layer of a credible net-zero strategy — the small fraction of emissions that cannot be abated and must be neutralized with high-durability removals or capture. It is not a substitute for abatement; it is the instrument that sits at the bottom of the stack after the abatement work has been done.
In practice, that means three things for the buyer:
- Abatement first, neutralization second. A net-zero buyer's primary instruments are QET-NG and QET-RNG (Scope 1 / Scope 3 Category 3 abatement and fuel substitution) and QET-ELEC (Scope 2 market-based). The CCS extension enters the picture for the residual that cannot be abated.
- Permanence and verification matter more here than anywhere else. Because the token is anchoring a neutralization claim, the durability classification on the certificate and the verifier-of-record attestation are first-class outputs — not afterthoughts.
- SBTi-aligned thinking. Under SBTi's Corporate Net-Zero Standard, neutralization is bounded to a defined share of residuals; the credibility of the neutralization instrument matters. A token verified to ISO 14064-3 reasonable assurance, carrying the attributes a credible CCS Energy Attribute Certificate is expected to carry, is a credibility-graded record in that conversation.
How CDR fits into a net-zero strategy
Net-zero decarbonization in more detail
What a QET-CCS Is NOT
This is the part worth tattooing on the wall, exactly the same way QET-NG and QET-RNG are positioned:
A QET-CCS is not a carbon credit, not an offset, and does not transfer Scope 1 emissions between parties. It is a CCS attribute certificate. It substantiates verified, project-specific capture and storage attributes, retired on-chain to anchor a specific neutralization claim. A producer that issues QET-CCS keeps its own Scope 1 inventory; a buyer that retires QET-CCS sharpens the neutralization record on its own books — it does not net those numbers against an unrelated tonne of CO₂e by some other route.
Three corollaries:
- Voluntary carbon market integrity initiatives that govern carbon credits and offsets do not govern QET-CCS. The relevant integrity frame is the emerging family of CCS Energy Attribute Certificate standards in the market.
- Token retirement is not a Scope 1 transfer mechanism. The retirement record anchors a single, irrevocable, on-chain neutralization claim — nothing more.
- The token does not replace abatement. It is for residuals after abatement work has been done, consistent with how the GHG Protocol frames net-zero accounting.
Frequently Asked Questions
A QET-CCS is a tokenized Carbon Capture & Storage Energy Attribute Certificate issued on the EarnDLT registry under ISO 14064-3 reasonable assurance, structured to satisfy public CCS-EAC frameworks emerging in the market.
Request a Demo
See a QET-CCS in a Sample Net-Zero Stack
Request a demo and we will walk through a QET-CCS alongside QET-NG, QET-RNG, and QET-ELEC in a sample net-zero residuals plan — including the CCS Energy Attribute Certificate structure, the framework-portable export, and the retirement record your auditor will inspect.