Xprize Carbon awarded to a dirt simple carbon removal technology

Summary

Sometimes the simpler idea is the winner. That’s certainly the case with the winner of the Xprize Carbon Removal competition, which was announced on Wednesday. Mati Carbon walked away with the $50 million grand prize for its enhanced rock weathering program that locks carbon in soils for thousands of years. The Musk Foundation underwrote the prize. The runners up were NetZero, which produces biochar; Vaulted Deep, which processes and buries waste biomass; and Undo Carbon, another enhanced rock weathering startup. Mati also beat finalists that spanned a range of technologies, from direct air capture to ocean alkalinity enhancement. “It’s really been a honor to be selected amongst the luminaries of carbon removal who have been competing for this prize,” Shantanu Agarwal, founder and CEO of Mati Carbon, told TechCrunch. Mati’s carbon removal technology, enhanced rock weathering, is simple. The company grinds up rocks that naturally convert carbon dioxide into stable minerals, increasing their surface area to help them absorb carbon more quickly. Then the rock dust is spread on farm fields where mineralize carbon and contribute micronutrients to the soil. Several different types of rocks work for enhanced rock weathering, but Mati uses basalt, a volcanic rock that’s available in a number of regions around the globe. There, fine particles are often waste from aggregate used in construction. Logistics are key to making enhanced rock weathering work for carbon removal. Mati applies basalt to the farmers fields free of charge. Costs are supported by a mix of grants and carbon removal credit sales. The company expects to deliver about 5,000 to 6,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits this year. Agarwal said that Mati is aiming to sell credits for less than $100 per metric ton by the early 2030s. Longer term, he anticipates the price will drop to $70 to $80 per metric ton. To validate the credits, the company takes eight samples for every three acres of farmland. As its da...