Applications are open for XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition 2021. XPRIZE Carbon Removal aims at tackling the biggest threat facing humanity – fighting climate change and rebalancing Earth’s carbon cycle. Funded by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation, this $100M competition is the largest incentive prize in history, an extraordinary milestone.‎

This four-year global competition invites innovators and teams from anywhere on the planet to create and demonstrate solutions that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans, and sequester it durably and sustainably. To win the grand prize, teams must demonstrate a working solution at a scale of at least 1000 tonnes removed per year; model their costs at a scale of 1 million tonnes per year; and show a pathway to achieving a scale of gigatonnes per year in future.

Prizes

After 1 year of competition, the judges will review all submissions received by that time and award up to 15 Milestone Prizes of $1 million each.  After 4 years, judges will select the winners:

• $50 million paid to the single Grand Prize Winner
• $30 million to be distributed among up to 3 runners up

Eligibility

• Any carbon negaitive solution is eligible; nature-based, direct air capture, oceans, mineralization, or anything else that achieves net negative emissions, sequesters CO2 durably, and show a sustainable path to achieving low cost at gigatonne scale.
• XPRIZE beleives that solutions can come from anyone, anywhere: Scientists, engineers, 167 academics, entrepreneurs, and other innovators from all over the world are invited to form a 168 team and register to compete.

Application

Team registration will remain open throughout the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition. The following deadlines apply:

• Registration for the Student Awards will close October 1, 2021 18:59:59 UTC
• Registration for the Milestone Awards will close December 1, 2021 18:59:59 UTC
• Registration for the Grand Prize will close December 1, 2023 18:59:59 UTC

 Competition Guidelines