Announcing the Finalists and Winners for the Bezos Earth Fund $1M Greenhouse Gas Removal Ideation Prize

Berkeley, CA 12/20/2024

The Experiment Foundation is thrilled to announce the finalists and winners of the Bezos Earth Fund $1M Greenhouse Gas Removal Ideation Prize. The competition, which sought innovative solutions for scaling greenhouse gas removal technologies, received more than 700 submissions from researchers, scientists, and innovators around the world. 

 Structured in two phases and run by the Experiment Foundation, the prize aimed to inspire groundbreaking ideas tackling one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change. The goal of the prize is to illuminate and take the first steps to advancing solutions that can contribute significantly toward removing gigatonnes of greenhouse gases annually by 2050. 

The finalist submissions represent a diverse array of ideas and approaches, highlighting the creativity and innovation within the global scientific community. The winners will now apply their prize funding to further develop their projects and advance the critical work of greenhouse gas removal.
 

David Lang, Executive Director of the Experiment Foundation, expressed his congratulations: “We're honored to recognize the winners and finalists of the Bezos Earth Fund $1M Greenhouse Gas Removal Ideation Prize. These visionary proposals exemplify the critical innovation needed to address the global challenge of climate change.”

The full list of winners, finalists, and their projects is below. The prize was launched as part of the Bezos Earth Fund’s broader Greenhouse Gas Removal initiative.

Phase II WINNERs (In no particular order)
Phase I Finalists  (In no particular order)

Pioneering Enhanced Rock Weathering for Permanent, Scalable Carbon Dioxide Removal with Agricultural Co-benefits
UNDO
London, United Kingdom

Transforming Degraded Lands into Carbon Havens: Regenerative Sequestration for Climate and Biodiversity
Carbon Sequestration, Inc
Houston, USA

Harnessing Desert Coastlines for Large-scale Carbon Removal and Ecosystem Restoration
Brilliant Planet
Harpenden, United Kingdom; Akhfennir, Morocco

Transforming Copper Mine Waste into a Gigaton CO2 Sequestration Solution with Energy-Efficient, Sustainable Practices
Rockfix
San Francisco, USA

Direct Air Capture with Resource-Efficient, Water-Generating CO2 Removal Technology
Avnos
Los Angeles, USA

Marine CDR with Efficient Electrochemical Saltwater Treatment for Global Decarbonization Brineworks
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Unlocking Enhanced Rock Weathering's Gigaton Potential through Innovative Science and Scaled Deployment
Terradot
San Francisco, USA

Advancing Secure Carbon Mineralization in Basalts for Gigaton CO2 Storage
Cella Mineral Storage
New York, USA

Optimizing Carbonic Anhydrase for Industrial CO2 Removal: Bridging Technological Gaps in Protein Engineering, Production, and Immobilization
Airzy
Stockholm, Sweden

Monitoring of Carbon Fluxes in Rock-Treated Soils to Enable Trustworthy CDR Reporting for Enhanced Weathering
Carbon Drawdown
Fürth, Germany

Empowering Indian Smallholder Farmers: Circonomy's Decentralized Biochar Network for Climate and Soil Health
Circonomy
Singapore

Enabling Regenerative Farming to Remove Gigatons of Carbon Dioxide with Enhanced Rock Weathering
Inplanet
Munich, Germany; Piracicaba, Brazil

Integrated DAC and Waste Carbonation System for Mining and Industrial Sites
Skyrenu
Sherbrooke, Canada

Urban Geochemical CDR with Innovative Green Roofs for Large-Scale Carbon Removal Carbon Neutral Initiative
Rotterdam, Netherlands

Indirect Air Capture:  Using Oxidative Hydrothermal Dissolution to Harness Natural Carbon Capture for Gigaton-scale CO2 Removal and Storage
Thermaquatica
Carbondale, USA

Facilitating Carbon Dioxide Removal Financing with a Concessionary Hedging Mechanism
Ezra Climate
USA

Direct Air Capture Technology for Efficient and Sustainable CO2 Removal
Arbon
New York, USA

Scaling GHG Removal with a Public Utility Model: Regulatory Innovation for Climate Action
Jason Hochman
New York, USA

Utilizing Demolished Concrete for Efficient and Scalable Carbon Capture
Anonymous
Palo Alto, USA

Harnessing Biochar Carbon Removal and Improving Farmers’ Soil Fertility for Climate and Social Impact
BIOSORRA
Nairobi, Kenya

Marine Permaculture Seaforestation: Integrating advanced remote sensing and ML for scalable ocean carbon sequestration
The Climate Foundation
Cebu, Philippines

Enzyme-Enabled Gigaton CO2 Sequestration in Concrete Through Protein Engineering
David Ding
Berkeley, USA

Exploring Geothermal-DAC Integration in Kenya: Assessing the Impacts of Hydrogen Sulphide on DAC Adsorbents
Mike Bwondera
Nairobi, Kenya

Unlocking Capital for Climate Tech with Philanthropic Insurance Loss Reserves
Trellis Climate
Boston, USA

Electrochemical Capture and Conversion of N2O into Valuable Chemicals
William Tarpeh
Palo Alto, USA

Direct Ocean Electrocapture (DOE): Harnessing Metal-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Removal from Seawater
Yu Kawamata
San Diego, USA

Eco-Efficient GHGR: Sustainable Wood Storage in Fiberglass for Carbon Sequestration
Exaquest
San Francisco, USA

Peatland Restoration: Optimizing Sphagnum Moss for Enhanced Carbon Sequestration and Methane Reduction
Jonathan Ritson
Manchester, United Kingdom

The International Biochar Atlas: A Decision Support Tool for Soil Health & Carbon Removal
International Biochar Initiative
Albuquerque, USA

Synthwave: Pioneering Low-Energy, Ocean-Based Carbon Capture with Electrode and Flow Cell Innovations
Alexander Ose
Medford, USA

Assessing Socio-Ecological Impacts of Carbon Removal: Pioneering Delphi-Based Expert Elicitation for Informed Decision-Making
Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal
Washington, DC, USA; Squamish, Canada

Unlocking Kenya’s Potential as a Global Carbon Sink with Basalt Mineralization for DAC Scale-Up
Climate Action Platform - Africa
Nairobi, Kenya

Recycling Silicon PV Panels for Methane Removal at Scale
Shu Hu
New Haven, USA

Hybrid Solar Chimney Power Plants: Advancing Methane Removal and Renewable Energy with Enhanced Hydroxyl Radical Generation
Wei Li
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Mati Carbon: Empowering Smallholder Farmers with Enhanced Rock Weathering for Effective Carbon Removal and Soil Rejuvenation
Mati Carbon
Houston, USA

BioBloom: Domesticating Evolution to Empower Solutions to Climate Change
Max Schubert
Oakland, USA

Algae-Based Carbon Removal and Long-Term Storage in Repurposed Oil Fields
Darius Kosmützky
Cambridge, United Kingdom

Creating a Nonprofit Oil and Gas Company for Methane Abatement and Climate Impact
Sam Mar
Houston, USA

Bio-Transformative Direct Carbon Removal (DCR) Skunkworks: Pioneering Plant-Engineered Decomposition-Resistant Compounds for CO2 Sequestration
Richard Conant
Fort Collins, USA

Innovating MOF Adsorbents for Direct Air Capture: Enhancing Stability and Efficiency for Carbon Removal
Liang Feng
Durham, USA

Electro-mineralization of Silicates: Co-producing Critical Metals and Carbon Removal at Gigaton Scale
Greeshma Gadikota
Ithaca, USA

The Ocean Vital Signs Network for Carbon Capture and Climate Solutions
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
Woods Hole, USA

Transforming CO2 into Cultured Limestone for Sustainable Construction and Carbon Sequestration
Daniel Soeder
Tunnelton, USA

Passive Direct Air Capture of N2O Using Hybrid Colloidal Adsorption Technology
Michael Landmeier
Sandy, USA

Enhancing Reforestation Efficiency: The Carbon Community’s Mission for Faster-Growing, More Resilient Trees with Higher Carbon Absorption
Carbon Community
Windsor, United Kingdom

Epiphyte: Pioneering Modular, Community-Driven Air Capture Technology
OpenAir Collective
Austin, USA

Planboo: Empowering Tropical Biochar Projects for Global Carbon Reduction and Market Access
Priya Bhullar
Stockholm, Sweden

Catalyzing Equitable and Scalable Carbon Removal and Co-Benefits: Incentivizing Open Source MRV for ERW in the Global South
Precision Development
Nairobi, Kenya

Data-Driven Soil Carbon Management for Climate-Smart Agriculture and Verifiable Carbon Markets
The Soil Inventory Project
Saratoga Springs, USA

Biochar Production: Mobile, In-Situ Pyrolyzers for Efficient Carbon Sequestration and Soil Enhancement
Jason Aramburu
Oakland, USA

Seaweed Cultivation: A Novel Multi-Layered, High-Density Approach for Scalable Oceanic Carbon Removal
Satyam Sharma
Bangalore, India

Benthic Weathering Engines: Harnessing Marine Invertebrates to Boost Coastal Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement
James Smoot
West Sacramento, USA

Bloomineral: Harnessing Marine Biomineralization for Permanent CO2 Removal and Sustainable Limestone Production
Caroline Thaler
Courbevoie, France

Electrochemical Solvent Regeneration: A Groundbreaking Step in Efficient, Environmentally Friendly Direct Air Capture
Silvia Pugliese
Paris, France

Precise Methane Oxidation on a Vertically Aligned Nanocomposite Membrane
Zhou Lin
Amherst, USA

Integrating IoT and Data Analytics for Community-Engaged GHG Monitoring at high spatiotemporal resolution.
Jalal Awan
San Francisco, USA

Local Empowerment for Scaling Carbon Removal Technologies for Economic and Environmental Progress
The Plymouth Foundation
Plymouth, USA

Rethinking Resources for Direct Air Capture: Transforming Polyolefin Plastic Waste into Core Aminopolymers
Michael McGuirk
Golden, USA

Exploring Small-Scale On-Site Wood Vaults for Sustainable Biomass Carbon Removal and Fire Mitigation
Jeff Woodward
Denver, USA

The Pennycress Cooperative: Advancing Climate Change Mitigation with Community Science
Jason Thomas
Oakland, USA

Biochar Mosaic: Integrating Microbial Ecosystems for Forest Regeneration and Carbon Sequestration
Ubani Arukwe
Lagos, Nigeria

Advancing DAC with Standardized Sorbent Testing: Pioneering Robust Protocols for Efficient Carbon Capture Evaluation
Mani Modayil Korah
Tempe, USA

Harnessing Soil Bacteria to Reduce Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agriculture
James Henriksen
Fort Collins, USA

Advancing Enhanced Weathering: Innovative Solutions for Strong Acid Weathering
Maurice Bryson
Dublin, Ireland

Contact

Reach out to ideas@experiment.com with any questions.