Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) is a method to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air by accelerating the natural breakdown (or weathering) of rocks like Basalt and Olivine. When these rocks get in contact with rain, the calcium and magnesium convert to carbonates, while capturing CO₂ in the atmosphere. However, this process takes over a million years, far too slow to help our climate goals. This natural process already removes 1GT of CO₂ annually. With the help of the scientific community, a few startups across the world aim to accelerate this process to bolster carbon capture instead in a few years.
A „Gigacorn“ is a startup with the potential to avoid or remove 1 gigaton of CO₂ emissions from the atmosphere. It is a term coined by Christian Hernandez, founding partner at 2150 VC.
ZeroEx — A Munich-based startup removing CO₂ from the atmosphere using the ERW method. The startup is incubated at the Frankfurt School Entrepreneurship Centre (FSEC). We believe that ZeroEx will be a Gigacorn from the FSEC portfolio and here are our top 3 reasons.
In 2023, global CO₂ emissions reached 37.4 Gt. To meet our climate goals, we need to reduce emissions to close to zero AND remove 7–9 Gt of CO₂ annually from the atmosphere. Current novel Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) methods removed a meagre 1.3 million tons (0.0013 Gt) in 2023.
There are several novel CDR methods besides ERW, such as Biochar, Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS), and ocean-based removal. While each has its pros and cons, ERW stands out for its high CO₂ permanence (1000+ years), relatively low cost, scalability, and agricultural co-benefits, such as improved long-term soil health and increased farm resilience to extreme climate events.
While Biochar is a mature CDR method, and Direct Air Capture (DAC) is being pushed forward in the US, ERW has gained traction in recent years with increasing standardization from certifiers such as Puro.earth and Isometric. It has also been recognized by the EU’s new Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF). The growing recognition of ERW has pushed key market players to significantly improve the Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) process, which is crucial to ERW and used to result in high costs, making it less competitive. As a result, prices are gradually dropping, and it is expected that by 2050, the cost will decrease from €380/ton to €130/ton (a 65% reduction), primarily driven by lower MRV costs.
BCG estimates the global economic potential of the CDR industry to reach €470–940 billion annually by 2050, with ERW making up 6%. Demand for high-quality removal credits is soaring, yet only 5–10% of voluntary carbon credits traded are based on carbon removal. According to cdr.fyi, only 201,378 tons have been sold using ERW, highlighting the method’s growth potential.
Remarkably, in less than two years, the founders Hannes and Tony, both Frankfurt School alumni and serial entrepreneurs -raised over 2 million Euros from German Angel investors, built a team of 10 full-time employees (and hiring), secured agreements with more than 30 farmers, and signed exclusive contracts with quarries for the next 5 years. They are part of notable startup accelerators such as Harvard’s prod Accelerator, ETH’s remove and Frankfurt School Entrepreneurship Centre. ZeroEx is on track to spread 50,000 tons of basalt rock powder on agricultural fields in Western Germany by the end of this year. With their complementary skillsets and shared passion for fighting climate change, the team is poised to make a significant impact in the CDR market via ERW. It is also uniquely positioned as the only ERW-focused startup headquartered and fully operating in Germany.
Frankfurt School Entrepreneurship Centre also boasts of incubating more sustainability and biodiversity-focused startups like YUMOSO, Green account, recarb, Green Elephant, ENVIOTECH, Freeze Carbon, Mynt and ReamaAI. Check out the full portfolio of startups here.
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