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On 23rd April 2025, UNDO was named one of four global winners of the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition. The announcement was the result of years of work, years spent proving that enhanced rock weathering (ERW) isn’t just scientifically promising, but operationally viable, scalable, and measurable.
But behind the headline is a story of people, persistence, and progress. A journey that stretched across continents and disciplines, built on trust, shared purpose, and the belief that scalable, science-backed carbon removal is possible – and happening right now.
A Bold Bet on a New Pathway
UNDO entered the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition in 2022. At the time, enhanced rock weathering was gaining traction in the scientific community, but real-world deployments at scale were rare.
ERW accelerates a natural process where silicate minerals break down and bind with atmospheric CO₂, locking it away in solid form over time. Done right, it offers a durable, cost-effective carbon removal solution that can also benefit soils and farming communities.
But no one had proven it at scale. And no one had yet met the XPRIZE challenge: to remove 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ in a single year, verified by independent review and backed by a pathway to gigatonne scale.
We believed we could be one of the first.
Designing for Scale and Credibility
From the outset, we knew credibility would be everything. This couldn’t just be a one-off project, it had to demonstrate how ERW could scale without compromising environmental integrity, community relationships, or measurement accuracy.
We chose eastern Ontario, Canada, as the location for our demonstration. The region had all the components we needed: mineral access via Canadian Wollastonite, local agricultural partners, and a strong logistics network to support delivery.
We spent months designing the project around real-world conditions, not just what would work in theory, but what would work in the field. We built a delivery model around three core principles:
– Measurability: everything tracked, from quarry to field to final CO₂ impact
– Partnership: farmers engaged as collaborators, not just landowners
– Scalability: built on existing infrastructure and supply chains, not building new carbon-intensive systems
Our team worked across science, operations, and tech to create a framework that could hold up to scrutiny and be replicated across continents.
From Quarry to Field
Between spring and autumn of 2023, the project was brought to life.
In partnership with Canadian Wollastonite, we delivered and applied 34,000 tonnes of crushed rock across 102 farms, covering 5,670 hectares in total. Our operations team managed over 5,000 truck movements, ensuring consistent, safe, and evenly distributed spreading across a diverse mix of farm sizes and conditions.
To support measurement, we deployed 30 monitoring sites, capturing everything from baseline soil conditions to porewater chemistry. This included:
– Solid-phase and porewater geochemistry
– Environmental safety data (including trace metal analysis)
– Agronomic metrics (e.g. pH shifts and early nutrient availability)
– GPS-tracked application rates
– Full chain-of-custody data for every load of rock
It was one of the most advanced ERW deployments ever undertaken, and every tonne was recorded and verified through our MRV system and proprietary tech platform.
Measuring the Impact
This project wasn’t just about fieldwork, it was about evidence.
The carbon impact was calculated via a full lifecycle assessment (LCA), including all upstream and downstream emissions: mining, haulage, spreading, monitoring, MRV, and equipment use. Gross removal values were then adjusted downward to reflect real-world losses and conservative assumptions.
The result: 1,209 tonnes of net CO₂ removed, verified by two independent VVBs and approved by a panel of XPRIZE judges.
The same systems we built for this competition now form the foundation for how we measure every tonne we remove, both for current customers and for future scaled deployments.
“This prize will accelerate our progress as we build robust, scalable MRV systems, technology that can support our growth from kilotonne to megatonne, and eventually to gigatonne scale.”
— Rosalie Tostevin, Geochemistry Lead, UNDO
The Team Behind the Submission
A project of this scale doesn’t happen without deep collaboration across functions, time zones, and disciplines.
– Our science team led the MRV framework, porewater sampling, and lab analysis.
– The field operations team worked on the ground to coordinate farmers, logistics, and material delivery.
– The data and tech team built the systems to ensure traceability, compliance, and accuracy.
– The communications and partnerships teams crafted the submission and brought the story to life.
– Our farmer partners played a central role, engaging with the science, providing access to land, and offering essential feedback.
“Community engagement is at the heart of our climate solution. Our work is only possible through deep collaboration with land owners, academic partners, carbon standards, regional governments, and the public. Fostering inclusive and open dialogue was essential to our success, alongside the farmers who shared their land, insights, and trust with us.”
— Jo Spindler, Head of Brand and Marketing, UNDO
There were challenges: weather delays, unexpected maintenance needs, and the logistical complexity of synchronising applications across so many farms. But there were also moments of pride: the first tonnes delivered, early signs of co-benefits in the soil, and the thrill of seeing the data come together.
A Signal to the Sector
Our selection as one of four global winners validated our model, rewarded the team’s hard work, and sent a strong message to the market. This announcement marked a significant moment for us.
“Being an XPRIZE winner is a powerful validation – not just of UNDO’s scientific rigour and massively scalable operational model, but of the incredible team and agricultural communities behind it all.”
— Jim Mann, CEO & Founder, UNDO
We’re proud that two of the four winners in this final stage came from the ERW space recognition that this approach is ready for global scale, and that real, durable carbon removal can come from nature-based solutions grounded in hard science.
“We’re still in the early stages of what CDR technologies can achieve. I’m confident the XPRIZE will play a pivotal role in accelerating these permanent carbon removal solutions that our climate urgently needs.”
— Ryan King, Chief Commercial Officer, UNDO
What Comes Next
Winning XPRIZE isn’t the end of the story, it’s the start of our next chapter.
The prize funding will help accelerate:
– Research into next-generation MRV that’s faster and even more scalable.
– Deployment in new regions globally with the right minerals, soils, and partners.
– The evolution of our platform model, empowering local delivery partners to scale ERW with integrity.
Our goal is to reach megatonne-scale annual removal by 2031, and gigatonne-scale carbon removal by 2050. With this foundation, we believe it’s possible.
A Shared Milestone
This win belongs to the full UNDO team, our partners at Canadian Wollastonite, the farmers who opened their fields to us, the VVBs and advisors who guided our submission, and the global ERW community moving this work forward every day.
“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.”
— Anousheh Ansari, CEO, XPRIZE
“It’s amazing to think that work like this could contribute to a meaningful shift in the planet’s long-term trajectory.”
— Rosalie Tostevin, Geochemistry Lead, UNDO
We’re honoured to be part of that path, and even more excited for where it leads.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible. This is just the beginning.
Let’s Scale Carbon Removal Together
UNDO’s XPRIZE win proved that enhanced rock weathering can deliver credible, scalable climate impact. Now, we’re accelerating. Join us as we scale ERW from kilotonnes to gigatonnes.
