Written by: Antti Vihavainen, Vice Chairman of Puro.earth

Yesterday's announcement of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal winners marks a pivotal moment for climate action and for the carbon removal industry as a whole. 

Let’s be honest: the climate crisis demands more than just reducing emissions. The science is clear—we need to remove billions of tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere and oceans every year to have a fighting chance at meeting global climate goals. The XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, launched in 2021, set a bold challenge: demonstrate at least 1,000 tons of net CO₂ removal in a year and show a credible pathway to gigatonne scale. Over 1,300 teams from 88 countries answered the call, raising the bar for what’s achievable in carbon removal. 

Puro.earth has been following the process already before this challenge was started. I met with Marcius Extavour, Former Chief Scientist & Executive Vice President Climate and Energy at XPRIZE, at COP25 in Madrid while the earlier climate challenge related to carbon utilization was still running. I recall having a lengthy conversation about their plans for the next carbon challenge and shared our early experiences on producing negative emissions on an industrial scale. 

We also introduced the team to talk with potential funding sources, but that turned out to be in vain once the Musk Foundation decided to step in and contribute the full prize money. The $100 million XPRIZE—the largest incentive prize ever awarded for climate innovation—has done more than reward a handful of exceptional teams. It has put carbon removal at the center of the global climate conversation and shown that meaningful, scalable solutions are not just possible, but already underway. 

Congratulations are in order for all the winners and finalists. I’m especially proud to see that three of the four grand prize winners—Mati Carbon, NetZero, and UNDO Carbon—are registered with Puro.earth. This isn’t just a milestone for those teams; it’s a strong signal that independently verified, science-based standards are crucial as the CDR industry grows and matures. 

As we recognize their achievement, it’s worth exploring how these standout teams are turning ambitious climate goals into tangible, real-world progress. 

Mati Carbon (Grand Prize, $50M) is pioneering enhanced rock weathering with smallholder farmers across India and Africa. By providing free basalt rock dust, Mati boosts soil health and crop yields while permanently removing atmospheric CO₂—a win for both climate and rural livelihoods. Their proprietary matiC platform ensures scientific rigor and full traceability, integrating advanced monitoring and AI-powered field verification. With XPRIZE recognition, Mati aims to reach 100 million farmers and deliver gigaton-scale carbon removal in the coming decades, making durable climate action part of everyday agriculture. 

NetZero (1st Runner-Up, $15M) is a French company and the only biochar project among the XPRIZE Carbon Removal winners. NetZero’s solution leverages crop residues in the tropics to produce biochar—a stable form of carbon that, once returned to soil, locks away CO₂ for thousands to millions of years. Their highly efficient, modular technology and local, circular supply chain deliver both climate impact and major benefits for soil health and rural livelihoods. NetZero’s solution was recognized by XPRIZE judges for its potential to scale to a billion tons of CO₂ removal in a cost-effective way. Already working with over 1,500 farmers in Cameroon and Brazil, NetZero aims to remove more than 5 million tons of CO₂ by 2030 while improving the lives of tens of thousands of farmers. 

UNDO Carbon (3rd Runner-Up, $5M) is a leader in enhanced rock weathering (ERW), operating in Scotland and Canada. Their climate journey includes two major pivots, first from Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation to Biochar and then to ERW to find the most scalable CDR method. This iterative approach is very rare and highly commendable. UNDO’s approach accelerates the natural process of rock weathering by spreading crushed silicate rock on agricultural land, where it reacts with CO₂ and water to form stable bicarbonates. This process permanently removes CO₂ from the atmosphere while improving soil health and crop yields. UNDO’s vision is ambitious: it believes ERW could help eliminate up to 4 billion tons of CO₂ annually, contributing significantly to the world’s carbon removal needs. 

A Broader Industry Impact 

The XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition has done more than award prize money—it has unleashed a wave of innovation, investment, and global attention that is fundamentally reshaping the carbon removal landscape. By challenging teams to deliver real, scalable solutions, XPRIZE has proven that carbon removal is not just a theoretical concept but a rapidly advancing industry with the power to transform our climate trajectory. We at Puro.earth have witnessed the explosion of new ways of CDR – also in areas we thought would not be possible without negative consequences. 

What’s truly exciting is the diversity and creativity on display: from enhanced rock weathering and biochar to deep geological storage and ocean-based approaches, the finalists have shown that there are many viable paths to net zero. This breadth of solutions means we’re not and we shouldn’t be betting on a single technology, but building a robust portfolio capable of meeting the world’s urgent climate goals. 

The momentum generated by this competition is already accelerating the pace of progress. XPRIZE has helped lay the foundation for a multibillion-dollar market in high-quality, durable carbon removal credits—just in the past four years. The bar has been raised for transparency, scientific rigor, and real-world impact, setting new standards for what buyers, policymakers, and the public can expect from this industry. 

Next Steps for Industry Stakeholders and Investors 

The achievements of the XPRIZE winners are just the beginning. To turn this momentum into lasting climate impact, industry stakeholders and investors must take decisive action: 

• Initiate Early and Strategic Investments: Investors and corporate buyers should move quickly to secure long-term offtake agreements for carbon removal credits. Early action not only locks in lower prices and reliable supply but also provides critical capital for suppliers to scale their operations. 
• Diversify Carbon Removal Portfolios: Companies should adopt a portfolio approach, supporting a mix of technologies—such as direct air capture, enhanced weathering, and biochar—to manage risk and maximize climate impact. This strategy builds institutional knowledge and supports the development of a resilient, scalable market. 
• Support Policy and Standards Development: Policymakers and industry leaders must advocate for clear, credible net-zero standards and robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks. Strong standards drive demand for high-quality removals and reduce market uncertainty. 
• Leverage Non-Climate Co-Benefits: Stakeholders should highlight and develop the economic, social, and environmental co-benefits of carbon removal—such as improved soil health, rural livelihoods, and ecosystem restoration—to build broader support and resilience in the face of shifting political and market conditions. 
• Collaborate Across Sectors: Governments, NGOs, and the private sector should work together to unlock innovation, streamline permitting and infrastructure development, and ensure that incentives support both early-stage and commercial-scale projects. 
• Prepare for Market Evolution: As the carbon removal market matures, expect consolidation around major marketplaces and evolving standards. We also expect to see an increasing number of compliance schemes adopt CDR to ensure massive demand over the next decades. 

There’s a new sense of possibility in the air. The world is watching as carbon removal moves from pilot projects to global deployment. With continued collaboration, innovation, and commitment, we can turn this momentum into lasting climate impact. 

Congratulations again to Mati Carbon, NetZero, UNDO Carbon, and all the teams who are redefining what’s possible. The future of carbon removal has never looked brighter!