All projects within the Climate Transformation Fund

PyroCCS pioneers sustainable industrial biochar carbon removal in the Global South, deploying its own low-cost, robust, pyrolysis systems powered by renewable energy and backed by a digital measurement and reporting solution. These plants efficiently convert invasive acacia bushes in Namibia, a significant threat to the savanna ecosystem, into high-quality biochar, while providing critical employment in regions with high youth unemployment rates. PyroCCS's scalable technology, which they are also offering as a solution to other project developers, not only captures carbon but also supports local agricultural and environmental recovery as well as food security.

BIOSORRA aims to revolutionize sustainable agriculture in the Global South by transforming crop waste into biochar, enhancing soil health and crop yields. Partnering with over 2,036 farmers to date, BIOSORRA's patented pyrolysis technology creates a durable carbon sink and improves farming efficiency. Emphasizing community and climate justice, BIOSORRA supports women-led businesses and empowers local farmers with affordable biochar, boosting food security and environmental resilience.

Solidaridad and Planboo are teaming up to transform agricultural practices and combat climate change by utilizing biochar in a decentralized way. By collaborating, Solidaridad’s extensive experience in sustainable agriculture and Planboo’s innovative digital MRV system which includes an internet-connected (IoT) device, verification at scale can be achieved. Their partnership hopes to empower over 100,000 smallholder farmers in Zambia converting cotton stalks into biochar, increasing their incomes, improving soil health and permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Holocene has developed a continuous, low-temperature, thermochemical direct air capture technology, which combines the best of both traditional DAC approaches. The continuous, liquid absorption system coupled with a solid, low-temperature desorption, brings the benefits of affordability, scale, and flexibility inherent in such an approach. Holocene's proprietary combination of organic sorbents unlocks this whitespace, which can be more scalable and affordable than alternatives.

Phlair is advancing a novel Direct Air Capture approach utilizing innovative electrochemical technology. This process captures CO₂ from the atmosphere using a basified solvent, transforming it into bicarbonates, and then releasing it as gaseous CO₂. The technology is uniquely capable of matching renewable electricity generation curves and is designed to be cost-effective, energy-efficient, and scalable. With its modular design and reliance on existing supply chains, Phlair's approach has the potential for rapid upscaling. The project is currently at a promising stage of development, with a clear path to commercialization.

Ucaneo is pioneering a biomimetic Direct Air Capture technology. Their innovative approach combines solvents with (bio)catalytic properties and electrochemistry, resulting in a process that can be more energy and cost-efficient than traditional methods. Ucaneo's prototype has demonstrated the capacity to remove roughly 1 ton of CO2 per year, with scalable modular units designed to remove ~500-1000 tons of CO2 annually. Their unique use of electrochemistry and (bio)catalysts, along with an interchangeable modular and scalable design, sets them apart.

Yama is a pioneering Direct Air Capture company with innovative technology that integrates a scalable, low-grade heat source with electrochemistry. Yama's solution addresses key limitations in existing approaches by enhancing energy efficiency, large scale carbon capture, combined with strategic partnerships, indicates a strong potential for scalability.

Gaia Refinery is pioneering a unique carbon dioxide removal technology that merges Direct Air Capture with Biomass Carbon Removal. This innovative approach utilizes liquid DAC capture technology and biogenic sources of acetic acid to capture three streams of CO2, offering a potentially more cost-effective solution than current DAC technologies. The hybrid technology requires less electricity, captures more CO2 per ton of biomass, and can achieve efficient scale at a smaller plant size.

Vycarb's innovative approach to carbon removal focuses on converting biogenic CO₂ in water into stable bicarbonate and carbonate. The system targets high-CO₂ waters and uses a continuous flow alkaline reactor where direct measurements of the removal are made by their real-time sensing technology. A modular, solar-powered design allows for scalability and autonomy, making it adaptable to various settings. The system also utilizes multiple alkalinity sources, requiring minimal upkeep. This unique solution addresses the challenges of water-based CDR, offering a promising avenue for reducing atmospheric CO2 emissions.

Alkali Earth is a unique project utilizing steel slag, a byproduct of the steel industry, to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. The process involves crushing the slag to increase its surface area and using it in various applications such as on gravel roads. This process converts atmospheric CO₂ into stable carbonate minerals, effectively removing it from the environment. Alkali Earth is currently the only company using steel slag aggregates for carbon removal, providing a low-cost pathway to scale CDR through an industry that already moves gigatons of materials each year.

Mati Carbon is pioneering a unique approach to carbon removal by enhancing rock weathering in paddy rice fields. The project is particularly noteworthy for its focus on smallholder farmers in the global south, and its ongoing research into reducing methane emissions from paddy farms. Mati Carbon is committed to maximizing the carbon dioxide removal value transfer to these farmers showing a potential for very high social and environmental co-benefits. The company also has a strong focus on measurement, reporting and verification, using methods developed in collaboration with the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture.

Flux is the first company to start doing Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) in Africa where the potential co-benefits of the method are the highest. They spread crushed silicate rocks on farmlands in Africa to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and to improve soil quality, improving farmers' yields and climate resilience. Flux is currently conducting a pilot project with smallholder farmers in Kenya and partnering with large-scale commercial farms and existing rock quarries across the continent for rapid scaling. Their gathering of data on how ERW works in African soils will help develop the method and be a catalyst for ERW across the continent.

Aquarry proposes a new approach to carbon removal called pit lake alkalinity enhancement. This involves adding alkaline materials to flooded surface mines, transforming them into carbon removal and storage assets while also improving water quality. The technology is similar to ocean alkalinity enhancement, but with less environmental risk and more measurable results. The technology has the potential to store millions of tonnes permanently at a low cost. This innovative approach is in its early stages, with laboratory work to confirm measurement and verification methods underway and larger-scale demonstrations planned.

Fermentation sources are a relatively unexplored carbon removal source. Carbon Capture Scotland, who has recently rebranded to The Carbon Removers, focuses on capturing waste biogenic CO₂ from whisky distilleries and storing it permanently. Their proprietary technology reduces the cost and energy footprint of capturing and processing high-purity CO₂ and allows for accurate measuring and reporting along the supply chain.

InPlanet operates in Brazil as the first Enhanced Rock Weathering startup solely focused on the tropics. They spread silicate rock powder under ideal soil and climate conditions, promoting rapid weathering and carbon capture. The carbon is stored in soil leachates, waterways, and ocean sediments. Key co-benefits include the restoration of degraded soils, improved food nutrition, and reduced reliance on conventional chemical inputs in agriculture. InPlanet conducts rigorous measurements, from laboratory to field, to assess the net carbon removal effectiveness of rock spreading in various agricultural contexts.

Based in the Netherlands, SeaO₂ is developing a new atmospheric carbon removal method by leveraging the ocean, which has 150 times more carbon (as dissolved) compared to the atmosphere. SeaO2’s electrochemical oceanic carbon capture technology treats water to capture and store its CO₂ content, returning the treated water to the ocean’s surface layer where it can continue to absorb more CO₂.

Takachar produces biochar with a new mobile, low-cost, MIT-developed technology that can latch on tractors and pick-up trucks. The advanced equipment is brought to farmers' fields where the waste biomass they have available is turned into biochar, mixed together with nutrients to be applied on the farmers own fields. In many cases, biomass that otherwise would have been burnt in open air is used, avoiding air pollution. Sales of carbon removal credits subsidise the process, enabling them to scale and serve lower-income farmers as well as new regions where biochar would not be economically feasible in the first place. Waste heat from the equipment can be utilised for value addition such as crop drying, or running small boilers.

Parallel Carbon is developing among the world's most affordable processes for DAC while also producing clean hydrogen for industrial decarbonization. They passively capture CO₂ from air with a mineral sorbent. To extract the CO2 for permanent storage, they regenerate their mineral sorbent with an ambient temperature water treatment process facilitated by electrochemistry. By utilizing an electrolyzer, they are creating a capital-efficient process to unlock multiple climate change mitigation pathways.

Canadian TerraFixing captures CO₂ from the air via a novel Direct Air Capture process that employs adsorption technology. It is designed to operate in cold, remote locations where extracting CO₂ from the air is easier and cheaper, and where the scalability of renewable wind power is large. The greatest challenge with DACs is likely electricity consumption. The electricity must be cheap, clean and the DACs company should not crowd out other uses of the clean electricity. Furthermore, building large amounts of clean electricity quickly is difficult due to permitting and grid connection delays. TerraFixing’s technology sidesteps much of this thanks to the possibility of deploying in remote locations where renewable energy can produce more and there is little competition for the electricity.

Mission Zero has developed a breakthrough technology that combines CO₂ capture and mineralisation in one process. The 'Medusa' Process is simple and energy efficient compared to other CDR methods and has the potential to become among the cheapest DACs solutions. Mission Zero's direct air mineralisation process captures atmospheric CO₂ and turns it into rock in a matter of days. This is the second carbon removal process developed by Mission Zero, which has already piloted an electrochemical direct air capture technology.

Kenya-based Octavia Carbon – the Global South’s first Direct Air Capture (DAC) company – designs, builds and deploys DAC technology that uniquely leverages Kenya’s geothermal energy, geology & talent to radically accelerate DAC down the cost curve. Their vision is to make Kenya the leading DAC hub storing the CO₂ permanently underground in Kenya's basaltic geology.

InterEarth cultivates a diverse selection of highly adapted coppicing woody plants in Australia. This biomass is periodically harvested, with the harvested biomass being encapsulated in dedicated above-ground storage chambers to ensure long-term carbon sequestration. This method offers a cost-effective and durable solution for storing significant amounts of CO₂, provided the local conditions are favorable. The project utilizes marginal lands unsuitable for food production for biomass growing, with storage chambers placed on non-arable land such as salinated areas or deserts. As an early adopter of the biomass storage method, we began supporting InterEarth in 2022 to test and evaluate the method's viability.

Silicate is a terrestrial enhanced weathering company accelerating a natural geological process – the weathering of minerals – to durably sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. The company works with farmers to apply mineral dusts to farmland to counteract soil acidification and durably remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Silicate is the first enhanced weathering company to pioneer carbonate mineral weathering on farmland, and conservatively estimates that their solution could scale to 750 million tonnes of durable carbon dioxide removal each year.

atmosfair is a non-profit organization that aims to contribute to CO₂ mitigation by promoting, developing and financing renewable energies in over 20 countries worldwide. In 2022, atmosfair, in collaboration with the Ithaka Institute, launched a novel research project in Nepal. The project aims to systematically compare nine different Carbon Farming systems to assess their potential for negative emissions, food productivity, and ecosystem services. The primary crop at the Tiger Hill Research Farm is coffee, integrated within complex carbon farming systems rather than as a monoculture. By focusing on this systematic scientific comparison, the project seeks to identify which systems offer the highest carbon sequestration and economic benefits. While current estimates are available, this approach provides a unique, scientifically grounded evaluation.

HUSK focuses on creating affordable carbon-based fertilisers for smallholder farmers in South East Asia. HUSK uses a feedstock (rice husk) that would otherwise be burnt as a cheap fuel or have decomposed, both generating carbon emissions and toxic silica fumes. HUSK transforms the rice husk into biochar based fertilisers which are then sold to farmers to improve their soils, increase their yields, and reduce input costs.

MASH Makes converts agricultural waste into biochar and biofuel in India, effectively sequestering carbon and reducing the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Heirloom, one of the leading DACs companies in America, builds low-cost Direct Air Capture technology that rapidly accelerates the natural processes that enable limestone to absorb CO₂ from the air from a timespan of years to days. Heirloom’s technology stands out, because it leverages abundant, inexpensive materials, such as limestone to capture carbon. Unlike other methods that use synthetic sorbents and energy-intensive fans, Heirloom uses natural materials and passive air flow, reducing energy use and therefore costs.

CHAI will work on the high impact project of transitioning a portfolio of hospitals in South Africa's Western Cape Province to renewable energy. This could be a high impact measure that is currently not occurring due to the limited capacity of the department of health and because of bureaucratic hurdles to innovative financial and energy contracts. The project has the potential to reduce emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons, and leverages CHAI's extensive experience in health sector procurement and innovative finance.

This initiative introduces Electric Three-Wheelers (E3Ws) in Pakistan, replacing traditional three-wheelers with E3Ws with swappable batteries. The project implements solar- and biogas-powered battery swapping stations in peri-urban agricultural areas. Using the energy efficiency of E3Ws the project demonstrates a scalable model for sustainable mobility in Pakistan.

This project promotes Leaf Color Charts (LCCs) among smallholder rice farmers in India to help farmers optimize nitrogen fertilizer use, thereby reducing their production costs and nitrous oxide emissions for the global community. PxD will collaborate with an implementation partner to distribute 10,000 LCCs with accompanying digital advisory services during this project. This project addresses the critical need for timely and customized fertilizer application to reduce GHG emissions, with the potential for continued scaling through government and other partners and significant long-term emissions reduction.

CMW is a prominent organisation striving to influence EU carbon removal policies. In the ongoing legislative revision, there's a risk that the EU might permit permanent and low-durability measures, such as soil carbon, as substitutes for emission reductions. CMW proposes a novel approach to monitor the EU's carbon removal targets, preventing the risk of discouraging mitigation efforts due to the absence of distinct and separate reduction and removal targets. This approach aims to achieve near-zero emissions and sustainable removals at the same time, for the benefit of both the climate and society.

Industrious Labs is an organisation dedicated to decarbonising heavy industry, with a specific focus on the aluminium, cement, steel and waste sectors. Their global cement campaign is centred around advocating for a shift from carbon-intensive Portland cement to existing, low-carbon technologies that can significantly reduce emissions in this sector. Whereas, their aluminium campaign aims to decarbonise the U.S. primary aluminium industry, leading to a substantial reduction in its CO₂ footprint. Industrious Labs prioritises four interconnected approaches to reducing emissions: advocacy campaigns, data and analysis, movement building, and strategic communications.

Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) is an independent think-tank working on net zero pathways for Australia, highlighting how the green transition benefits the economy. The CTF provides core support to BZE to strengthen its organisational capacity, research, and advocacy work.

New Energy Nexus (NEX) is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to innovation and adoption of clean energy technologies. We are supporting NEX in Indonesia to establish a policy and regulatory framework for the growth of clean energy technology startups. NEX has a good global track record as well as strong results from supporting clean energy startups in Indonesia.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organisation that advocates for human rights, including the right to a healthy environment, and holds governments and other entities accountable for human rights abuses. HRW's work in the context of fossil fuels involves investigating and exposing their negative impacts on human rights and health in affected regions, advocating for governments to transition to cleaner energy sources, and engaging in global advocacy efforts to better regulate the industry, end public financing for it, and prevent new or expanded fossil fuel projects from coming online. HRW’s goal is to limit climate-related devastation on people and communities with an immediate and fair phasing out of fossil fuels.

Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a non-profit focused on reducing atmospheric pollution and mitigating global warming. The CTF funds the CATF’s Africa Energy & Climate Innovation Program which seeks to build the foundation for a large-scale clean energy future in Africa, addressing both local needs and economic growth. Unlike small-scale solutions like microgrids, CATF focuses on systemic changes such as renewable grid integration and strategies to address industrial emissions to influence clean energy development across the continent.

This project develops a mobile app for regreening techniques like Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). The app delivers real-time, location-specific advice directly to farmers' phones. This approach reduces intervention costs by eliminating the need for in-person visits to every location. We already support Justdiggit’s regular work since 2021, and now added this project because it builds on proven FMNR methods, increasing cost-efficiency and potential for rapid scaling in dry landscapes.

he "Plant the Forests of Tomorrow" project in Ecuador aims to reforest 400 hectares with 200,000 native trees over 8 years in the Buenaventura Reserve. Jocotoco works on both establishing nature reserves and reforesting degraded landscapes in some of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots. Jocotoco has a strong track record of establishing reserves and preventing species extinction, as well as addressing the root causes of deforestation.

This project focuses on large-scale seagrass ecosystem restoration in Western Australia using robotic technology. Ulysses is working in collaboration with the University of Western Australia. The group aims to restore thousands of hectares of seagrass meadows, which can store large amounts of carbon annually. The project develops innovative robotic technology for seed collection, planting, and monitoring. Ulysses, in partnership with UWA, provides a novel, scalable method with significant co-benefits for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and coastal ecosystems.

Mangroves are important carbon sinks and among the most degraded ecosystems with high restoration potential. Landesa, a global development organisation, strives to secure land rights for marginalised populations, recognising their significance for poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, and peace. CTF funds Landesa’s project that aims to protect and restore mangrove forests and engages in policy dialogues on promoting legal rights of small-holder forest owners in the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. This project focuses on securing forest tenure, sustainable land management, reforestation, and conservation. Landesa uses a regional and collaborative approach within six countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India (West Bengal), Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to advance sustainable mangrove management, blending on-the-ground restoration and conservation efforts with advocacy for secure tenure rights.

Planète Urgence is a non-profit organisation dedicated to environmental conservation and community development, with a notable presence in Indonesia. Their work spans various critical areas, including the restoration of mangroves and coastal trees, fostering sustainable aquaculture practices, and enhancing the economic well-being of local communities. The supported project is specifically tailored to combat the ecological harm caused by shrimp farming and deforestation in the fragile ecosystems of Borneo's Mahakam Delta and Adang Bay. This multifaceted initiative includes essential components such as environmental education, the establishment of community mangrove nurseries, and the provision of training in sustainable aquaculture practices. Through these concerted efforts, Planète Urgence aims to not only mitigate the environmental damage but also empower the local communities to adopt more sustainable livelihood practices.

The Ceibo Alliance, an Indigenous-led organisation operating in the Upper Amazon across Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru, empowers Indigenous communities to combat deforestation and protect vital carbon sinks within their territories. A key element of their strategy involves mapping and monitoring forests, where they support community land patrols in detecting and deterring activities that threaten the rainforest in real time. They also gather evidence of these illegal activities, leveraging legal channels to stop future encroachments and protect their territories.

Plant With Purpose is a non-profit organisation that works with rural communities, implementing initiatives related to nature restoration and regenerative agricultural practices along watersheds, to improve crop yields, to bolster food sovereignty, and to improve water quality and access. They do it while empowering communities to find a path to self-sufficiency and resilience through so-called community Purpose Groups.

Indonesian Conservation Community WARSI is one of the oldest non-profit organisations in Indonesia addressing the issues of deforestation, illegal logging, illegal extraction of agarwood and expanding mining operations. WARSI in Indonesia helps indigenous groups and local communities get forestry licenses for their land, so they have the legal rights to it and can prevent it from being cut down. WARSI also provides capacity building and training so communities can sustainably manage and gain livelihoods from their forests.

Justdiggit together with their main partner in Tanzania - LEAD Foundation is on a mission to regreen Africa through promoting Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) or Kisiki Hai method, a simple but very effective natural method to grow the remaining tree stumps into large mature trees. Trees that are part of this treecovery process grow fast because farmers select, prune, mark and protect trunks with an established root system of older trees that are still alive. Once mature, these trees contribute to more water remaining in the ground and create shade for plants to grow, increasing agricultural productivity. This project responds to the primary drivers of deforestation in The Singida region, which along with other regions in central Tanzania, has faced environmental degradation due to deforestation, unsustainable agricultural practices, and climate change. This has led to reduced biodiversity, soil erosion, and declining agricultural productivity, negatively impacting the livelihoods of local communities.