Eion, a carbon removal company turning the proven science of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) into a scalable climate solution, announced a contract to deliver 8,000 tons of permanent carbon dioxide removal to Microsoft. And Eion also announced it has closed $3 million in Series A extension funding from agricultural distributor Growmark, AgFunder, Ridgeline, Trailhead Capital, Overture Partners, Mercator Partners, Exelon Foundation, and others.
Eion will soon deploy olivine (a naturally occurring and abundant mineral the company has optimized to weather quickly) on farmland after the fall harvest with a group of large farmers in the Mid-Atlantic.
Every ton of carbon removed as part of the purchase will be verified with Eion’s patented direct measurement approach, in accordance with third-party standards and verifiers, and will be delivered over the course of five years.
This additional funding will be used to build on growing commercial traction, deliver against new contracts, and further invest in R&D. And through its partnership with Growmark, Eion has the network to access millions of acres across the US and is beginning to work with farmers in the Midwest to deploy rock weathering at a greater scale.
This deal with Microsoft and capital infusion further validates the opportunity for ERW to become a meaningful climate solution and builds on recent company tailwinds:
1.) In November 2023, Eion became the first enhanced weathering solution to deliver CO2 removal to Stripe, a significant vote of confidence in its scientifically rigorous approach.
2.) In November, Eion also announced it secured guaranteed access to 500,000 tons of olivine annually from leading mineral solutions provider Sibelco—a critical supply linchpin to meeting its ambitious goal of removing 10 million tons of CO2 each year starting in 2030.
3.) Eion was recently named a semifinalist in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize—a first-of-its-kind federal initiative to catalyze market growth for carbon dioxide removal technologies.
Driving the Earth’s process of naturally mineralizing rocks to balance atmospheric carbon levels, Eion compresses what would otherwise take thousands of years into a timeline of several years. And Olivine – which was legally approved for agricultural use for decades – is ideal for ERW because it absorbs a high rate of carbon, and its composition includes various trace elements that enable Eion to measure carbon dioxide removal accurately.
Eion’s direct measurement process uses real-world data to account for how ERW works in the field. Utilizing existing soil sampling practices and standard lab equipment and methods, Eion can uphold scientific rigor while continuously monitoring health and safety.
Every soil sample taken by Eion is analyzed for trace elements, including nickel and chromium, which are naturally present in agricultural soils, and benchmarked against the company’s safety guardrails. With verified data and risk exposure models from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), these guardrails enables Eion to be a responsible land steward and trusted partner to farmers and rural communities.
KEY QUOTES:
“A diverse coalition of stakeholders—from corporate offtakers, to companies looking to deploy climate solutions in their own supply chains, to federal agencies—are increasingly investing in the promise of enhanced weathering. We’re excited to work with Microsoft to continue demonstrating the true potential of the category and add to ERW’s rapidly growing track record.”
-Anastasia Pavlovic, CEO of Eion
“Eion’s verification methodology, continuous monitoring of environmental conditions, and established history of successfully delivering carbon removal makes them stand apart in ERW. We look forward to supporting this important component within the ecosystem of proven climate solutions.”
-Brian Marrs, Senior Director, Energy Markets at Microsoft
“Understanding the opportunity we have to help make agriculture more sustainable drives us to support research and fund innovation through companies like Eion.”
-Wade Mittelstadt, Growmark’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
