In this article, Gaurav Agrawal of the SPE Research and Development Technical Section (RDTS) spoke with Shantanu Agarwal, founder and CEO of Mati Carbon, a climate technology company that won the $50 million Musk Foundation XPRIZE Carbon Removal grand prize in 2025. The company was awarded at the TIME100 Summit for demonstrating a viable pathway to remove 1 billion tons of carbon.
This series highlights innovative ideas and analysis shaping the future of energy, with a focus on emerging technologies and their roadmaps, potential, and impact. With these conversations, we hope to inspire dialogue and accelerate progress across new energy frontiers.
Shantanu Agarwal is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 2 decades of experience in the energy and climate sectors. He cofounded Sustaera, a direct air capture company, before establishing Mati in 2022. He holds a BTech in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
RDTS: Congratulations on winning the XPRIZE which the Washington Post called a “turning point for climate tech.” Can you tell us about the idea behind Mati, what challenges you have faced, and what the company has learned from its experience so far?
Agarwal: Thank you. To us, this validated the hard, often quiet, groundwork we’ve been doing for years. We share this win with the farmers in India, Zambia, and Tanzania who took a chance on this early.
I helped build a direct air capture (DAC) company in the US. That showed me both the power and the limits of engineered carbon dioxide removal (CDR), especially in terms of scalability, cost, and who it benefits. When I looked at enhanced rock weathering (ERW), it clicked for its combined impact on climate adaptation and mitigation. ERW is based on a naturally occurring process that removes CO2 by reaction between water, CO2, and rocks like basalt. Applying crushed basalt benefits the soil and yields of farmland. This dual mission, the carbon removal and the direct farmer benefit, became the foundation of Mati.
We faced every kind of challenge: the supply chain issues of finding the right basalt quarries, establishing a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system from scratch, establishing farmers’ trust, designing technology that works in low-connectivity zones, and convincing CDR buyers to trust a new method. These challenges shaped our team culture to operate with limited resources, maintain focus on MRV and the farmer, and be deeply science-led.
We have now started doing early feasibility work in additional countries. Winning the XPRIZE gave us more than just funding. With added momentum and the validation of our technology and business model, the Mati team aspires to become a major ERW player across the Global South.
RDTS: How did you come to the mission that founded Mati?
Agarwal: I grew up in India, surrounded by stories of farming and migration, of how hard it is to build resilience when you’re working with limited resources and increasing risks. Later in life, I had the privilege of working in oil and gas, finance, and climate tech. I started to see the disconnect between where innovation happens and where impact is most needed.
Scaling up ERW was a way to deliver climate outcomes while also putting money, minerals, and resilience into the hands of farmers. That felt personal. It felt like a way to close the loop and connect the frontiers of climate science with the real, lived experience of the people who grow our food and live with the consequences of climate change every day.
The feedback from farmers, seeing the yield gains, their ability to pay off debts to become viable again, and securing food and income security, has made this worth doing.
RDTS: How does ERW compare to DAC and more conventional carbon storage and sequestration (CCUS)?
Agarwal: All of these tools are needed, but they differ. ERW uses crushed silicate rock-basalt, in our case it is applied to soils. It reacts with CO2 in the presence of water to form bicarbonate, which is then transported into aquifers and eventually the ocean system. That is geochemically stable storage with residence times of 10,000 years or more.
DAC, on the other hand, pulls CO2 from ambient air using machines. It’s energy intensive, high cost, and needs reliable geological storage. CCUS captures emissions at point sources, mainly fossil fuel facilities, and stores them underground. It’s more about avoiding new emissions than removing legacy carbon. DAC and CCUS are uniquely applicable to specific industrial use cases where nothing else works.
ERW delivers durable carbon removal at a lower cost while delivering user benefits. It remineralizes degraded soils, increases yields in some cases, and helps farmers reduce inputs. It works with existing logistics, thus no new pipelines or industrial infrastructure are required. Hence, uniquely suited at scale in agriculture-heavy, resource-constrained geographies in the Global South.
RDTS: How is the carbon removal efficiency of the various technologies measured and authenticated? What is the status of standardization and global acceptance of the MRV system?
Agarwal: MRV is the credibility backbone of this space. At Mati, we take it seriously. We quantify carbon removal using a mass-balance model based on lab-verified field samples. We track cation release, mainly magnesium and calcium, bicarbonate formation, and soil solution chemistry. Samples are processed through independent labs, including at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. Real-time, high-volume field data, which is messy, is stored in an ERP system. We have built software to handle the chain of custody, splits, blanks, and audit trails. The resulting MRV is not a “model-only.” It’s physical, empirical, and deeply localized.
Now, is the system standardized globally? Not yet. There are strong protocols emerging-like those under Isometric and Puro. The industry is in the early innings of harmonizing methods across geographies, especially for smallholder systems. We need convergence on uncertainty treatment, clearer rules for durability, and lower-cost MRV that doesn’t sacrifice rigor. We’re contributing by publishing data, sharing our methods openly, and educating buyers.
RDTS: Are there risk factors of ERW, DAC, CCUS, and others not achieving their stated carbon removal potential?
Agarwal: For ERW, the biggest risks are in the quality of the basalt rock, how it’s applied, and how well it’s measured. We have rejected a number of basalt quarry sources due to their elemental composition or the low carbon removal potential. Some had trace metals above acceptable limits. The application environment factors, such as rainfall, particle size, and soil conditions, also affect the CO2 capture efficiency. And then there’s the measurement. You can’t just model it and move on. If the MRV isn’t rigorous, if your sampling is weak or your lab work is inadequate, you risk over claiming. We’ve invested heavily in field protocols, lab testing through IIT Kanpur, and real-time tracking to avoid that.
With DAC, the risks are different. It’s incredibly energy intensive. If you are not running on clean, low-cost power, your net carbon benefit collapses. Building out the infrastructure, the DAC plants, storage, and pipelines can take years. For CCUS, a lot depends on where you’re injecting the carbon and how well you can monitor it long term. There’s also the question of whether it’s truly net-negative if you’re just capturing emissions from fossil fuel facilities.
All pathways have technical and execution risks. That’s why the focus has to be on transparency, local context, and continuous validation.
RDTS: What role has advanced data, sensor, and analytics technology played in monitoring ERW applications, helping farmers monitor carbon removal, or in other facets of your operations?
Agarwal: It’s been central to how we operate. ERW, a geochemical process, happens invisibly, over time, in the soil and water. Without the right data and systems, you’re flying blind. We use a mix of soil sensors, satellite imagery, and on-ground field visits to monitor how the rock is behaving, how water flows through the soil, and how that links to carbon removal. End-to-end data from quarry to field to lab, and the chain of custody data is fed to our proprietary ERP and MRV engine. It also helps farmers. They’re able to see what’s happening in their soil, how yields are shifting, and how inputs might change over time. At scale, this technology helps us manage complexity, thousands of farms, different crops, varying climates, etc. Without it, we couldn’t do this reliably or with integrity.
RDTS: What are your views on the utility and importance of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in the decarbonization technologies and in the net‑zero journey?
Agarwal: AI and ML will be force multipliers, but only if grounded in good data and local context.
In ERW, we’re already exploring ML to improve weathering prediction models based on real-world data of rainfall, soil pH, crop type, and particle size. We’re also using AI to optimize logistics, identify patterns in yield response, and flag data anomalies during MRV. The technology has to be invisible to the farmers. We should not burden them with requiring technology proficiency. AI can help translate complexity into actionable, farmer-facing insights. That’s where it becomes powerful.
For the broader net-zero perspective, AI will be critical for grid balancing, climate modeling, and infrastructure planning, but it must serve the work on the ground, not replace it.
RDTS: To achieve net zero, do you think we have the technologies we need, or is there more innovation required?
Agarwal: Both. We already have some strong technologies. ERW, DAC, biomass-based removal, direct injection, and others can get us to net zero if we scale fast and do it right.
But there is still a huge amount of innovation possible. Not just in discovering new pathways, but in making existing ones cheaper, faster, more accessible, and ensuring what works today works even better tomorrow. The climate timeline does not wait for perfect technology, but innovation will expand what’s possible.
RDTS: There’s been a big spread in carbon credit pricing in the Voluntary Carbon Market. Why is that, and how do you see it evolving?
Agarwal: A lot of it comes down to quality. A CDR that avoids emissions for 1 year isn’t the same as one that removes carbon for 10,000 years. CDR pricing is an important signal. If high-quality CDR isn’t properly valued, the whole system stalls. And innovation, investment, and deployment subsequently follow.
Durable, verifiable CDR from ERW, DAC, and biomass pathways command higher prices because they deliver a long-term impact. You’re not just delaying emissions, you’re actually removing CO2 and locking it away. That takes more work, more proof, and more cost, but it’s also what buyers value.
I think we’ll see more alignment around what makes a “high-quality” credit. That clarity will help stabilize pricing and build confidence in the market. Big companies like Microsoft, Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, and Shopify have recently made advance market commitments. AI data centers based on various energy mixes will ramp up CDR demand. This can be a $10-billion market by 2030.
RDTS: You built Mati without venture capital (VC). As a serial entrepreneur with deep experience in private equity, what have you learned about building an innovative culture and commercialization velocity?
Agarwal: One big lesson I learned is to not optimize for short-term scale. Optimize for long‑term credibility, especially in climate tech.
We made a deliberate choice to grow without venture funding early on, as our primary stakeholder is the small farmer. The return on investment focus for a VC community would have created different priorities and different outcomes. Our current focus is on reaching areas where we can maximize the impact for smallholder farmers. This structure has given us space to focus on getting the science right, building trust with farmers, and investing in a field-first culture. We weren’t racing for headlines; we prioritized rigor.
From private equity, I learned the importance of systems—how to build repeatable processes, how to track risk, and how to hire for accountability. From entrepreneurship, I learnt that mission must drive the pace. People don’t just want a job. They want to work on something that matters.
RDTS: A 2022 University of Chicago study found that VC-funded firms outperform on innovation. How do you see the roles of startups vs. large companies in driving innovation? Where can they learn from each other?
Agarwal: The results do make sense. The VC-backed companies often have the capital and urgency to push boundaries. They tend to take bigger bets, and that risk appetite can produce high-impact innovations. I’ve seen that firsthand.
Startups are great at that early energy. They move fast, break molds, and build bottom-up. Larger companies bring something different including operational depth, scale, and access to markets and policy networks that small teams usually can’t reach alone.
The real opportunity is in collaboration. Startups need channels to plug into deployment at scale. Large firms need fresh thinking and faster iteration loops. And we’re seeing more of that now—through pilots, procurement partnerships, and joint ventures.
RDTS: What role can SPE play in supporting entrepreneurship?
Agarwal: I was part of SPE’s technical sections for many years. They can play a key role in increasing awareness of the entrepreneurship toolkit, sparking new ideas, the commercialization process, risk assessment, etc. SPE is a premier meeting place for students, academics, and industry professionals from small and large companies, all key to sustaining a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, corporates, investors, and policymakers. I would encourage SPE to actively spearhead the decarbonization of the world’s energy systems so that mankind can become a net‑zero species.
Gaurav Agrawal, PhD, SPE, is a director of the SPE R&D Technical Section. He has organized events in energy transition, AI, and digital technologies, and other areas. Previously, he was senior vice president of R&D at Newpark Resources in Houston and vice president of the Saudi Arabia Dhahran Technology Center at Baker Hughes. He has been granted over 90 US patents.
Editor’s note: Gaurav Agrawal has no relation to Shantanu Agarwal.