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UNDO spreads crushed basalt rock on agricultural land, enhancing soil health while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through a process called enhanced rock weathering
About
The science is clear, in order to achieve net zero carbon removals are a key part of every organisations net zero strategy. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change there is an annual removal need of 10 billion tonnes by 2050 per year in order to stay within the SBTi goals and achieve net zero. There is currently a lack of permanent, durable and scalable high quality carbon removals for businesses to partner with. Enhanced rock weathering is UNDO's permanent, rapid and scalable carbon dioxide removal technology, which has the potential to lock away up to 4 billion tonnes of CO₂ per yer. This equates to 40% of global CO₂ removal targets as also stated by the IPCC. Whilst permanently removing carbon at scale, it also enriches soil health and can support farmers & the agricultural industry. We take the natural process of rock weathering and accelerate it by partnering with quarries and mining companies who produce the byproduct that we then harness for carbon removal. There is over 600M tonnes of the by-product available within the global quarry industry making this a very circular and scalable solution that is built on optimising existing infrastructure, land and assets. Rock weathering happens when rainwater combines with CO₂ as it falls through the atmosphere which forms a carbonic acid. When this dilute carbonic acid hits the ground, the CO₂ interacts with silicate rocks such as basalt, mineralises and is safely stored as solid bicarbonate ions for 100,00+ years. UNDO accelerates and enhances this natural weathering process by spreading crushed basalt rock on agricultural land, vastly increasing the surface area of the rock and therefore increasing its contact with CO₂. Part of Stripe’s 2023 Climate Portfolio, UNDO is partnering with landowners and scaling operations in the UK and Australia. As the rock is a by-product of the mining and quarrying industry, UNDO does not use additional energy to procure it. The rock is also spread using existing agricultural infrastructure. In addition to permanent, rapid and scalable carbon removals, UNDO’s holistic partnership approach delivers significant co-benefits: (i) Green jobs for local communities: our partnership model drives profits back to agricultural communities (ii) Agronomic benefits to the soil: we have seen a crop yield increase of 16% and an increase of pH in the soils we work with and (iii) Ocean de-acidification: Bicarbonate ions captured during the process of enhanced weathering are washed out to sea, slowing ocean acidification and reducing the impact on fisheries and coral reefs.
Key Benefits
UNDO creates high quality carbon removal credits which clients can use to meet their net zero targets. As well as permanent and scalable credits, verified through an ICROA backed methodology with Puro.Earth, UNDO's operations deliver significant co-benefits into agriculture. UNDO's partnership model drives profits back to the agricultural communities that are increasingly feeling the brunt of climate change. The basalt that is spread acts as a soil enhancer and has shown a 16% increase in crop yield on crops of spring oats. The high mineralogy of the rock means that the farmers are seeing a reduction in the need for fertiliser and pesticides, reducing their costs and also their carbon footprint.
Applications
Businesses within the food and beverage industry need permanent carbon removal solutions in order to achieve their net zero targets. UNDO's carbon removal credits can be used for traditional offsetting and also offers the opportunity to pilot unique insetting or decarbonisation activities. Partnering with UNDO supports local farmers by improving their soil health and providing high quality, permanent carbon removal credits with an ICROA (International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance) backed methodology.