In a landmark push to accelerate climate innovation, the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, backed by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation, has awarded $100 million to teams developing scalable technologies to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The competition, launched in 2021, sought solutions capable of removing at least 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, with the ability to scale toward gigatonne levels by 2050.
Mati Carbon Wins $50M for Enhanced Rock Weathering in India
The $50 million grand prize went to Mati Carbon, a Houston-based startup founded in 2022. The company specializes in enhanced rock weathering, applying finely crushed basalt to smallholder farms across India. This process both captures CO₂ and boosts agricultural productivity.
CEO Shantanu Agarwal highlighted that Mati operates under nonprofit control, allowing the team to focus on climate and economic impact rather than profits. The company has already removed 20,000 tonnes of CO₂, and in 2023 generated $1 million in additional income for farmers in India, Tanzania, and Zambia — with projections to quadruple that in 2024.
“Being named the grand prize winner is not just a validation of our approach to CDR. It’s a catalyst to deliver climate resilience and economic empowerment for over 100 million smallholder farmers,” said Agarwal in a statement via XPRIZE.
$50M in Runner-Up Prizes
The remaining funds were distributed to a diverse mix of carbon removal startups:
- $15M to NetZero, a French biochar company operating in Brazil
- $8M to Vaulted Deep, a U.S. biomass carbon removal and storage firm
- $5M to UNDO Carbon, a UK-based ERW firm
- $1M each to Planetary (ocean-based CDR, Canada) and Project Hajar (direct air capture, UAE)
In total, over 1,300 teams from 88 countries competed, making it the largest climate incentive prize in history.
Industry Implications and Outlook
The competition comes as global CDR capacity remains nascent — with fewer than 320,000 tonnes of carbon removals delivered in 2024, per CDR.fyi, far short of the 10 gigatonnes annually needed by 2050 according to the IPCC.
XPRIZE CEO Anousheh Ansari noted, “We cannot stabilize our climate without extracting carbon at large scales. These winning teams represent real hope across geographies and technologies.”
Executive Director Nikki Batchelor added: “It needed to be bold and ambitious… with real money on the line.”
While major players like Microsoft, Stripe, and Alphabet have begun investing in early CDR solutions, the XPRIZE has sparked renewed urgency — and possibly created the foundation for a new global climate industry.
Sources: XPRIZE.org, CDR.fyi, IPCC reports, official press releases from Mati Carbon and participating companies.
Simplified diagram of global carbon cycle on Wikimedia by Kandasamy S and Nagender Nath B
