A global competition funded by Elon Musk’s foundation has awarded a $50 million grand prize to Mati Carbon, a company that spreads crushed rock on farmers’ fields to help draw climate-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

A Global Challenge to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Many scientists believe that removing carbon is crucial in the fight against global warming, caused by the burning of fossil fuels like gasoline, coal and oil, which release carbon dioxide. The competition, launched in 2021, aims to encourage the deployment of carbon-removal technologies.

• More than 1,300 teams from 88 countries participated in the competition.
• The prize is being awarded at a time when Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are making cuts to federal funding and staff at science-based agencies.

The Prize: A New Era in Carbon Removal

The $50 million grand prize is being awarded to Mati Carbon, a company that has developed a relatively low-cost approach to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The method, called enhanced rock weathering, involves spreading powdered basalt rock on farmers’ fields to speed up the natural process of rock weathering.

1. The process involves the formation of acid when water and carbon dioxide mix in the atmosphere, breaking down rock and converting carbon dioxide to bicarbonate.
2. The powdered rock also releases nutrients that help rejuvenate soils and increase crop productivity.

The Importance of Scaling Up

The competition emphasizes the need to scale up carbon removal technologies to remove gigatons of carbon dioxide in the coming decades. Several smaller prizes were awarded to teams that demonstrated an ability to remove 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

• The runner-up, NetZero, received $15 million for its project to turn crop residues into biochar.
• Other projects involved storing organic waste deep underground, enhancing oceans’ ability to store carbon, and removing carbon directly from the air.

A Scientist’s Perspective

Scientists have been exploring various geoengineering solutions to climate change, including drying the upper atmosphere, pumping minerals into the ocean, and absorbing carbon from the air. Rick Spinrad, former administrator at NOAA, called the finalists’ solutions “scientifically extraordinary concepts.”

“The best approach to reducing carbon probably will be a combination of technologies,” said Michael Leitch, technical lead for the competition.

A Word from the Winner

Mati Carbon CEO Shantanu Agarwal believes that his company’s approach has the potential to solve planetary-scale problems while helping small farmers in countries like India, who are often affected by climate change.

Highlights of Mati Carbon’s Approach

• Enhanced rock weathering method
• Low-cost approach
• Ability to rejuvenate soils and increase crop productivity

A New Era in Climate Research

XPRIZE is considering more climate-related competitions to address issues like methane removal, reforestation, and climate adaptation and resilience.