Competition-based impact platform XPRIZE announced today the winners of its $100 million XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, aimed at addressing climate change by catalyzing gigaton-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions.

Launched in 2021, the competition was funded by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation. The competition was joined by more than 1,300 teams from over 88 countries, with the final award winners selected from 20 finalists, which each met criteria to remove more than 1,000 net tonnes of CO2 in the final year of the competition.

XPRIZE CEO Anousheh Ansari said:

“At this critical turning point for our planet, the technologies developed by these winning teams represent hope with a broad range of approaches that are suitable for different geographies and can help the world reach net zero and ultimately reverse climate change. We cannot stabilize our climate without sustainably and safely extracting carbon from our atmosphere and oceans at large scales. I’m incredibly proud of the ways this XPRIZE competition catalyzed and fostered the innovation and collaboration necessary to build this critical new industry that was missing prior to our competition.”

The grand prize of $50 million was awarded to enhanced rock weathering (ERW) solution startup Mati Carbon. Founded in 2022, Houston-based Mati’s projects focus on applying finely crushed basalt over agricultural lands in India to accelerate a natural weathering process that permanently draws down atmospheric CO2. In addition to removing CO2, Mati’s solution also positively impacts smallholder farmers with increased income, in addition to benefits including improved crop productivity and soil replenishment.

Key factors in the selection of Mati Carbon for the award included its approach to monitoring and verification, in addition to criteria including operational, sustainability, and cost metrics, which XPRIZE said gave the judges confidence in the solution’s long-term scalability.

Shantanu Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Mati Carbon, said:

“Being named the grand prize winner of XPRIZE Carbon Removal is not just a validation of our approach to CDR, it also represents a major catalyst to building out the science and infrastructure needed to deliver on our mission – generating climate resilience and economic empowerment for the more than 100 million smallholder farmers in developing economies worldwide. I am very proud of our Mati Carbon team and the thousands of smallholder farmers who have partnered with us in India, Tanzania, and Zambia.”

Additional awards included $15 million to first runner up NetZero, a French biochar company operating in Brazil, $8 million to U.S.-based biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) startup Vaulted Deep, $5 million to London-based ERW company UNDO Carbon, and $1 million awards to ocean carbon removal company Planetary and Direct Air Capture (DAC)-focused company Project Harar. Additionally, over the course of the competition, $5 million was awarded to student teams, and $15 million in Milestone Awards were granted to teams with early demonstrations of their CDR solutions.

David Babson, Executive Vice President, Climate and Energy at XPRIZE, said:

“The vast potential of the carbon removal solutions coming out of this competition highlight the profound impact incentive competitions have in accelerating innovation. We’re proud to serve as a powerful catalyst for transformative solutions to tackle the most pressing global climate challenges.”