Clean, Green, and Built to Scale: Tackling Climate Change, Together
This year, representing InPlanet at Web Summit Rio, our CEO and Co-Founder Felix Harteneck joined a compelling panel titled “Clean, Green, and Built to Scale” to discuss the urgent role of innovation in climate tech. He was joined by Julia Sekula, CFO of Terradot, and hosted by Gareth Mitchell. The conversation highlighted how startups like InPlanet are turning science into scalable solutions to address the climate crisis. It emphasized starting with the ground beneath our feet.
Rock Weathering: Nature’s Original Carbon Removal Engine
“Everyone thinks about trees when they hear ‘carbon removal,” Felix explained. “But 99% of all historical CO₂ removal was done through rock weathering. This natural process involves rainwater absorbing CO₂ and reacting with minerals in rocks.”
InPlanet accelerates this process by spreading finely crushed rock powder on farmland. They leverage Brazil’s unique environment to supercharge carbon removal in just a few years, rather than millennia. Unlike traditional offsets, enhanced rock weathering is not only permanent and verifiable; it also offers co-benefits to agriculture. Felix added, “Brazilian soils are highly mineral-depleted. By applying rock powder, we’ve seen yield increases of up to 35% and fertilizer reduction by 50%. That’s transformational for farmers.”
Built to Scale in Brazil
Scaling is at the core of InPlanet’s mission. “To scale, you need rock, farmland, and data – and Brazil offers all three,” said Felix. With over 200 million hectares of farmland and 6 gigatons of mine waste rock, the country presents a rare opportunity. It turns byproducts into benefits.
InPlanet’s modeling suggests that over 1 gigaton of CO₂ could be removed using just existing residue streams. Additionally, there is the potential to capture up to 400 million tons annually on eligible farmland in Brazil alone.
Moreover, Brazil’s green energy mix, which is 70% hydro-powered, means that the carbon cost of mining, transporting, and applying rock powder is exceptionally low. “Our first certified credits show that only 7% of CO₂ is re-emitted in the process,” Felix shared. This makes our method one of the most efficient and verifiable in the world.”
Certification, Measurement, and Innovation
InPlanet recently became the first company to certify enhanced rock weathering carbon credits. This milestone showcases the importance of scientific rigor in building trust and accountability. Measuring carbon removal is complex, involving soil, water, and plant sampling, alongside modeling. But innovation is speeding things up. “We’re bringing academic science into startup environments,” Felix said, “and reducing research cycles from 5-10 years to just six months.”
What’s Next?
Looking ahead, InPlanet aims to reach its first megaton of carbon removal by 2027. This is a key milestone toward making this solution a pillar of the global carbon removal ecosystem. But the path ahead is massive. “Even in the best-case scenario,” Felix said, “we’ll need to remove 15 billion tons of CO₂ annually. That’s an industry that has to grow 50% year over year. Such growth is something no sector has done before. The time to act is now.”
As climate tech accelerates, InPlanet is proud to stand at the intersection of natural science, climate innovation, and regenerative agriculture. Together with farmers, partners, and global buyers, we’re not just removing carbon. We’re rebuilding ecosystems, restoring soils, and redefining what climate action looks like on a planetary scale.
