The Utopia View: Landscape of the Most Promising Emission Sequestering Technology

Summary: In my article, A Roadmap for Fixing Climate Change With Entrepreneurship and Capitalism: An Optimistic View of the Future, I showed reasons to believe we can reverse the environmental damage we have caused since the industrial revolution. But more is needed than emission reduction technologies — emission sequestering technologies are necessary not just for stopping, but also for reversing climate change. Enhanced weathering, regenerative agriculture, ocean alkalinization, ocean iron fertilization, and methane oxidation, are scalable, enhance existing natural processes, and are low cost. Thus, they present unique opportunities for carbon sequestration and billion dollar opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors.

Introduction

The climate crisis has reached its breaking point. We need a disruption of our current technologies for the energy, agriculture, and transportation sectors (the main emitters of greenhouse gasses), in order to implement green technologies on a mass scale. I have explained the disruption of emission reduction technologies in the article on climate change which complements the current one, which I strongly advise you to check out.

Emission reduction will not be sufficient to backtrack on our CO2 surfeit, which continues to increase temperature causing havoc across the planet. For this, emission sequestering technology needs to be developed and scaled immediately.

Prior to the industrial revolution, the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere were 280 ppm, which amounts to approximately 2,185 Gigatons of CO2. This strikingly contrasts with the 427 ppm currently present, which equates to a total 3,340 Gigatons of CO2 in the atmosphere. The amount of CO2 that needs to be removed from the atmosphere is at least 1,155 Gigatons (as the oceans would release carbon previously absorbed if atmospheric carbon decreases)

The following figure summarizes the different types of sequestering solutions that can be used for this, some of which I will explain in this article:

Figure 5.36 in IPCC, 2021: Chapter 5. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis.

Sequestering Tech: Landscape

Biological Approach — Nature Based Solutions

The following are strategies to enhance natural carbon sinks which do not require high-tech but instead make use of existing natural processes. This article intends to draw attention to the potential these strategies hold, both environmentally and economically.

Plant More Trees

Planting more trees is a potential sequestration technique, as they are one of the biggest natural carbon sinks. This can be done through reforestation, afforestation, and forest conservation, but understanding the differences and implications of each is crucial.

Reforestation involves planting trees in areas that were previously deforested, restoring the natural forest ecosystem. This approach is beneficial because it helps to recover lost biodiversity and enhance carbon sequestration in areas where trees would naturally occur.’ Afforestation refers to planting trees in areas without prior forest cover, creating a new forest. While this method can increase the overall number of trees, it might be risky to plant trees where there weren’t any previously as it might disrupt the balance of ecosystems.

Forest conservation focuses on preserving existing forests and their inherent carbon sequestration capabilities. For instance, Bluesource’s recent joint venture with Oak Hill Advisors exemplifies a large-scale effort to purchase and manage timber forests, combining preservation with growth-enhancement efforts to maximize carbon absorption.

The choice of tree species and plantation structure also plays a significant role in the success of tree-planting efforts. Polycultural plantations, comprising heterogeneous species types, are favored over monocultures, as they demonstrate higher survival rates, leading to more efficient carbon sequestration.

While tree planting represents a seemingly simple and available solution to offset CO2 emissions, effectively implementing this strategy at a global scale presents a complex challenge. Ensuring long-term success necessitates ongoing management and maintenance, making it a significant commitment. Despite these complexities, the fact that anyone can contribute to tree-planting as a natural carbon sink, makes it a tool in empowering our collective efforts to combat climate change.

Regenerative Agriculture

There is currently a growing movement called regenerative agriculture, a set of practices used to improve soil health, both restoring carbon content and the vast microbial life that makes soil healthy. Among other benefits, crops become healthier and more nutritious, water and nutrients are retained better, and erosion is reduced. A report by the Sustainable Markets Initiative Agribusiness Task Force estimates that regenerative farming on 40% of the world’s cropland would save 600 million tons of emissions per year (the current footprint of Germany).

Practices include (i) reducing soil disturbance (e.g. tilling), (ii) diversifying soil biota by rotating crops, and (iii) planting crops to cover the soil and (iii) maintaining plants living in the soil year-round. Carbon can potentially be stored in soils for millennia, but can also be quickly released, depending on soil management, climate conditions, soil type, and drainage.

Organic farming was one giant step in the right direction, away from synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Regenerative agriculture goes one step further, to rejuvenate the soil sustainably. Business leaders taking steps towards regenerative agriculture involve PepsiCo, Yara International, and Unilever.

Regenerative agriculture is a cheap, scalable solution, thus making it a promising strategy in fighting the climate crisis. Moreover, it doesn’t merely sequester carbon, but also contributes to food security. I believe it holds transformative power in our fight against climate change and world hunger alike.

Bio Charcoal

Another way to return carbon back to soil is through biochar, a stable form of solid carbon formed when biomass (i.e., animal wastes and plant residues) are heated to high temperatures in an oxygen-limited environment. This technique has been practiced by Amazonic tribes for many centuries for land-clearing and soil enriching activities, but only now its potential as a scalable sequestering technique is receiving attention.

Source: VectorMine

Biochar enhances carbon sequestering through two processes: (i) circumventing the normal decomposition process, and (ii) acting as a fertilizer. Biochar’s extreme porosity retains nutrients and water in the soil, leading to faster and stronger crop growth, which in turn helps absorb more CO2. Thus, this solution is especially helpful in places where drought has caused serious harm. Biochar also reduces carbon emissions because it can (iii) be used as an organic fuel for the generation of energy.

The United for Green initiative by CRHOPE Foundation, founded by Renos Fountoulakis, is aimed at teaching women in Zanzibar to produce and sell biochar for fuel usage, simultaneously empowering a local community and helping the environment.

A report showed that the global biochar market was valued at $204.6 million in 2021, and is projected to reach $695.1 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 13.1% from 2022 to 2031.

It’s worth noting, however, that biochar remains a costly solution. Producing biochar can cost between $100 to $400 per ton, depending on factors such as feedstock type, production method, and regional market conditions. This price range can be prohibitively expensive for small-scale farmers and other potential users, hindering widespread implementation.

Enhanced Weathering

Certain rocks contain available metal oxides like calcium or magnesium, which react with CO2 to form solid carbonates (calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, respectively). Researchers are exploring the possibility of taking these rocks and crushing them to increase their surface area, allowing it to speed up this natural mineralization process, which is typically a very slow part of the carbon cycle.

Natural rock weathering removes approximately 1 billion tons of CO2 tons annually. Enhanced weathering could remove 4.9 billion tons per year if basalt was used, and 95 billion tons per year if unite was used. These rocks are abundant below the Earth’s surface, and would need to be mined. Fortunately, some of it is already being mined during other mining operations, and left as mine waste. These rocks have also shown fertilizing capabilities, further providing a potential benefit to agriculture.

Source: ClimateScience

Heirloom recognizes the potential of naturally occurring minerals as carbon sinks, and is implementing enhanced weathering techniques to exploit them. Through enhanced carbon mineralisation (i.e., a speeding up of the natural process whereby metal oxides react with CO2 to form carbonates), Heirloom allows these processes to occur in days, rather than years. With sufficient scaling and efficient engineering, Heirloom intends to remove 1 billion tons of CO2 by 2035.

Enhanced weathering stands out as a carbon sequestration solution. Its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and bonus feature of reducing toxic waste make it an invaluable tool in our fight against climate change. In my view, this method harnesses the power of natural processes in an intelligent and efficient way and deserves serious consideration and investment.

Marine Permaculture

The ocean stores 55 times more carbon than the atmosphere. Marine permaculture is the practice of farming kelp and seaweed offshore in large submerged arrays, with the potential to sequester substantial amounts of carbon. These absorb carbon and sink to the bottom of the ocean when they die, creating near permanent carbon sinks. (Seaweed is more efficient at absorbing CO2 than the Amazon Rainforest!).

Another way to enhance carbon sinks is by increasing phytoplankton growth. This is done by promoting upwelling (i.e., allowing nutrients from the bottom of the ocean to rise to the top), a natural process which is being affected by rising ocean temperatures. Phytoplankton also absorb carbon dioxide, leading to a surge in CO2 sequestration. The Climate Foundation has, over the past decade, developed efforts to promote ocean upwelling using renewable energy, as well as developed large marine permaculture systems.

Marine permaculture, though a promising avenue for enhancing carbon sequestration, poses challenges. While it harnesses the ocean’s immense carbon storage capacity, the potential impact on marine ecosystems needs careful consideration to avoid ecological disruptions.

Ocean Alkalinization

Ocean alkalinization is an emerging technique for enhancing the ocean’s natural carbon sinks. This involves adding alkaline substances to seawater, which helps to convert dissolved CO2 into stable carbonate molecules and bicarbonates, thereby increasing the rate at which CO2 is absorbed from the atmosphere. Additionally, ocean alkalinization has the potential to counteract ocean acidification, which threatens marine ecosystems.

While ocean alkalinization holds promise, there are also challenges to be addressed. Potential ecological impacts need to be assessed, particularly in regions where the ocean is already naturally alkaline or in areas with high ship traffic. Additionally, the cost and feasibility of implementing large-scale ocean alkalinization projects need to be considered. In any case, I see lots of potential here and further research and development is imminent.

One example of a company working on ocean alkalinization solutions is Project Vesta. They focus on using olivine, a type of volcanic rock, to increase the alkalinity of ocean water, which in turn helps absorb more atmospheric CO2. The company plans to deploy olivine along coastlines, where wave action will help accelerate the process.

Ocean alkalinization offers a compelling approach to tackling climate change by increasing the ocean’s capacity to sequester atmospheric CO2. The potential of this method is significant; estimates suggest that with sufficient resources and careful deployment, ocean alkalinization could sequester gigatonnes of CO2 annually. Nevertheless, the side-effects related to the dissolution of the trace metals present in the minerals on the marine biota are still largely unknown.

Ocean Iron Fertilization

Ocean Iron Fertilization (OIF) is a geoengineering technique that involves adding iron to nutrient-deficient ocean zones to stimulate phytoplankton growth. These microscopic organisms absorb CO₂ during photosynthesis, and when they die, a portion sinks to the ocean floor, sequestering carbon for long periods. OIF has its roots in the iron hypothesis, introduced by oceanographer John Martin in the 90s, who proposed that the increased levels of iron in the Southern Ocean during the coldest periods fertilized the growth of photosynthetic microorganisms in the surface Southern Ocean, which therefore produced more biomass from CO2.

Consider the Azolla event: Around 49 million years ago, the tiny freshwater fern Azolla covered much of the Arctic Ocean, drawing down massive amounts of atmospheric carbon through explosive growth and burial. As the Azolla sank, it sequestered gigatons of carbon into the ocean floor, cooling the planet over hundreds of thousands of years. This event reveals the immense climate-altering power of photosynthetic life under the right nutrient conditions — a natural precedent for using biology to regulate global carbon levels.

The impact is potentially enormous: OIF could remove between 3 and 5 gigatons of CO₂ annually from the atmosphere, according to emerging estimates. To put that in context, that’s roughly 10–15% of current global annual emissions. Beyond climate benefits, OIF could also help restore marine ecosystems. Diatoms form the base of the oceanic food web and are a vital food source for krill, which in turn support the whale populations that once helped regulate ocean carbon dynamics themselves. Reviving diatom blooms could therefore rejuvenate entire marine food chains.

Importantly, iron makes up about 10% of the Earth’s crust, making it relatively abundant. Yet in large parts of the open ocean, it is the limiting nutrient — the one missing ingredient holding back explosive biological growth. We now know that the bulk of the ocean is iron limited. By correcting this imbalance, OIF could reboot the planet’s most powerful carbon removal system: the biological pump.

An example of OIF in action is the 2012 Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation experiment off British Columbia, which faced backlash for releasing iron sulfate without regulatory approval, although the results obtained proved deeply promising. Recent approaches have increased their monitoring. One such case is Liquid Trees, who are using diatoms to clean open water bodies. Diatoms are microscopic algae encased in silica shells, responsible for up to 90% of the biomass in phytoplankton spring blooms. These blooms are critical: they pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis. When the bloom ends, the diatoms sink rapidly — within 2 to 3 days — carrying carbon with them into the deep ocean where it can be stored for hundreds to thousands of years.

Liquid Trees selectively cultivate the dominant native diatom/microalgae species of a water system. By using pollutants as nutrients for growth, microalgae capture and fix carbon dioxide (through photosynthesis), and remove other toxic pollutants such as heavy metals.​ As microalgae grow, they release oxygen into the water, improving low-oxygen zones while treating water. The company periodically collects water and sediment samples from bodies of water to monitor the bioremediation process and validate & verify water quality and pollutant removal, sharing results with auditors and regulatory agencies. Although they initially tested in rivers and lakes, they are now looking to expand to ocean remediation. Unlike earlier OIF trials that faced criticism for lack of oversight, Liquid Trees combines ecological monitoring with precise deployment to optimize sequestration while minimizing unintended ecological effects.

While questions remain about long-term ecological impacts and scalability, OIF — especially when powered by innovations like those of Liquid Trees — represents a biologically intelligent, potentially low-cost, and high-impact approach to planetary restoration. If done responsibly, it might not only help stabilize Earth’s climate, but also revitalize the ocean’s role in sustaining life. That is why at Utopia Capital, we are backing Liquid Trees.

Engineered Approach — Technology Based Solutions

Engineered solutions offer a different, yet complementary, approach to carbon sequestration. They differ from biological approaches in that they’re more controlled, less subject to natural fluctuations, and can be directly implemented at the source of emissions. However, they often pose a higher environmental risk than biological approaches and are more costly.

These techniques not only capture, but often utilize carbon dioxide, reimagining it as a valuable resource. They leverage technology to separate carbon dioxide from other gases, store it, and in many instances, repurpose it for industrial use. I will explain the current landscape of technology based approaches to carbon capture and storage in the coming section

Direct Air Capture

Direct air capture (DAC) an innovative technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the ambient air, has been gaining significant traction. This process employs large machines to generate a concentrated stream of CO2, which can then be sequestered, utilized or used to produce carbon-neutral fuel and gas.​​

One of the main challenges for DAC is its high energy consumption. To achieve negative emissions, DAC operations must primarily rely on zero-carbon energy sources, which can escalate costs.

Nonetheless, DAC is emerging as a crucial component of the carbon removal strategy. According to recent research by QYResearch Group, the global DAC market size will skyrocket from 130 K MT in 2023 to 940 million MT by 2050, representing a CAGR of 38.96% during 2023–2050.

This high growth rate suggests that there is a very strong interest in the technology.

It is relatively rare for industries to experience such high CAGRs. Interestingly, other technology sectors that showed similar growth rates during their early stages are also green technologies.

While Direct Air Capture represents an exciting innovation, it’s important to temper our expectations. DAC has the potential to enhance carbon sequestration, but it also confronts substantial challenges. The energy intensity and high operational costs pose significant barriers to scalability, making it currently the least economical among sequestration solutions. So, while the hype around DAC may be intense due to its novelty and potential, it’s crucial to approach this technology realistically.

Carbon Capture from Industrial Processes

Industrial carbon capture is a crucial strategy in mitigating climate change, with industry applications offering the most widespread and effective solutions. It involves the use of technologies that capture CO2 emissions directly from the emission sources, such as power plants and manufacturing facilities. These sources often have a high concentration of CO2 in their waste gas streams. The captured CO2 is then either stored underground in geological formations or used in other industrial processes.

Waste streams in industrial processes contain a higher concentration of CO2 (15%) than the atmosphere (0.04%), making them prime targets for capture technologies.

To understand how carbon capture from industrial processes works, it might be worth breaking it down into 5 steps: (1) the emission source in an industrial plant (i.e., the place from where CO2 is released) is identified, (2) CO2 is bound to chemicals to form a compound which can then be extracted from the emitted gasses, (3) the compound mixture is heated to separate CO2 from the chemicals, (4) concentrated CO2 can then be stored underground or used for other things like carbonated drinks or fertilizers, (5) the chemicals used can be recycled and used again to capture new CO2 emissions.

It’s worth noting that this process is typically used in industries powered by non-renewable energy sources, so while it reduces CO2 emissions, it does not lead to a net decrease or ‘negative’ emissions.

Innovations like Mosaic Materials’ Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and Aker Carbon Capture’s diverse technologies promise to enhance the effectiveness and applicability of carbon capture. MOFs are highly porous crystalline solids with adjustable structures, enabling high gas absorption capacity and selectivity. Aker Carbon Capture caters to a wide range of industries onshore and offshore, providing solutions for mid-range and large-scale emitters. These advancements in carbon capture technology are essential to reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change.

Industrial carbon capture is a valuable tool in our fight against climate change due to its capacity to deal with concentrated CO2 emissions directly at the source. The rising trend of innovations, like MOFs, broadens its applicability. However, it’s not without limits. It’s predominantly used in non-renewable energy sectors and doesn’t lead to negative emissions. Plus, we have to be careful to avoid unintentional environmental issues, like possible leakage from storage sites, which could have detrimental effects on local ecosystems. So, while it’s a powerful tool, it’s not the ultimate solution.

Carbon Usage and Storage

The CO2 captured by engineered approaches has a variety of different applications. The following shows the landscape of uses and storage of CO2 after capture:

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is key to really propel sequestration technologies. As sequestering tech develops, it will be crucial for the industries of storage and usage of carbon to develop simultaneously.

For example, captured carbon can be used for cement production. Cement is currently responsible for about 8% of CO2 emissions, being a strong negative contributor to climate change. Carbon Clean is an example of a company which is working to sequester the carbon emissions of the cement production process. However, cement is an especially fruitful industry as it too can be made out of carbon. A team of researchers at UCLA have succeeded in creating construction materials from CO2 emissions in the lab through 3D printing technology. Now it’s only a matter of scaling the process to industrial levels.

The global Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Market was valued at USD 2.4 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 4.9 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR 15.1% from 2022 to 2027. Market growth is attributed to the increased demand from the oil & gas and power generation industries. Emerging economies such as Brazil and Argentina offer several untapped and unexplored opportunities in this market.

Methane Oxidation

Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential approximately 120 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO₂) on a per-molecule basis during its first decade in the atmosphere. Though it persists for a shorter time — about 12 years on average — its intense warming effect makes methane a prime target for near-term climate stabilization efforts.

Methane oxidation refers to the process by which methane is chemically converted into carbon dioxide and water, either biologically or atmospherically. In natural ecosystems, methanotrophic bacteria found in soils and aquatic environments consume methane as their primary carbon and energy source, contributing to its breakdown and eventual removal from the atmosphere. In engineered applications, techniques such as enhancing microbial activity in landfill soils have been used to oxidize methane before it escapes into the atmosphere.

However, in the face of rising atmospheric methane levels, scientists and entrepreneurs are exploring how to enhance methane oxidation in the atmosphere.

Enhanced Atmospheric Methane Oxidation (EAMO) works by sending iron-salt aerosols into the atmosphere. Under normal conditions, methane is removed from the atmosphere through reactions with hydroxyl radicals (OH), but this natural process is too slow to offset today’s methane emissions. EAMO aims to accelerate this oxidation by introducing catalytic aerosols — such as iron chloride (FeCl₃) — that, when exposed to sunlight, produce chlorine and hydroxyl radicals that react with methane, converting it into CO₂ and water vapor.

Although converting methane into CO₂ may seem counterintuitive, it is climatically beneficial: over a 20-year timeframe, methane traps about 84 times more heat than CO₂. Therefore, reducing atmospheric methane — even if it means generating some CO₂ in the process — results in a significant net cooling effect.

These catalysts are typically released over iron-deficient parts of the ocean — regions where the lack of bioavailable iron limits the productivity of marine ecosystems. This choice is deliberate: when iron aerosols eventually settle from the air into these waters, they can stimulate the growth of phytoplankton which absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis and help sequester carbon in the deep ocean. In this way, atmospheric methane oxidation may not only reduce greenhouse gases directly but also trigger secondary benefits through enhanced oceanic carbon uptake.

One company developing this technology is AMR (Atmospheric Methane Removal), a Swiss climate tech startup. AMR’s GeoRestoration Action Plan (GRAP) proposes deploying a fleet of small jets to distribute up to 300,000 tons of FeCl₃ aerosols annually over select oceanic regions. According to AMR, this could halve methane’s atmospheric lifetime — from 12 years to 6 — removing around 50 million tons of methane per year, equivalent to 360 gigatons of CO₂ over two decades. AMR estimates that this could cool the planet by 0.5 to 1.0°C within 25 years, at a cost of less than $1 per ton of CO₂ equivalent.

This article intends to encourage investment efforts in all kinds of sequestration and storage technologies. Not only will they help save the environment, but the innovations in this sector and their increasing demand make them invaluable financial and entrepreneurial opportunities. There are three sectors I see the most potential going forward: enhanced weathering, regenerative agriculture and ocean alkalinization.

Utopia View: Most Promising Sequestration Technologies

We believe the most promising strategies for carbon removal are enhanced weathering, regenerative agriculture, ocean alkalinization, ocean iron fertilization, and methane oxidation. These five approaches stand out due to their effectiveness, scalability, and the added environmental benefits they offer. They all harness natural processes. The core strategy is to find sustainable ways to promote these processes for an economic benefit. The strategies would contribute to the restoration of ecosystems, the improvement of soil health, and the preservation of marine life. These are the solutions that deserve attention and investments in the fight against climate change.

Enhanced weathering is a process in which rocks rich in minerals that can react with CO2 are crushed and spread over large areas of land to help remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Enhanced weathering has several advantages over other carbon capture technologies:

1. Low-cost: Unlike other CCS methods, enhanced weathering does not require significant energy inputs, making it a potentially low-cost option for mitigating climate change.
2. Cut toxic chemicals: Enhanced weathering can be performed using natural materials, such as crushed basalt or other minerals, and does not rely on the use of chemical additives like synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
3. Long-term solution: It would enable storing CO2 in a stable form in the soil, where it can remain for thousands of years.
4. Improving soil health: The minerals added through enhanced weathering can improve the fertility and health of the soil, leading to improved crop growth and productivity. This can provide long-term benefits for both the climate and agriculture.
5. Compatible with existing land-use practices: Enhanced weathering can be integrated into existing land-use practices, such as agriculture, forestry, or reforestation, making it a potentially flexible solution for mitigating climate change.
6. Scalable: Enhanced weathering can be applied on a large scale.

Regenerative agriculture is another sector which I believe presents exceptional benefits. To recall, regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming system that aims to improve soil health and increase carbon sequestration in the soil. It has several advantages over other carbon capture and storage technologies:

1. Food security: Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving soil fertility through the use of practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and the integration of livestock into cropping systems. This can result in more sustainable and resilient agriculture systems that can improve food security.
2. Low-cost: Like enhanced weathering, regenerative agriculture does not require significant energy inputs.
3. Environmental health: In addition to carbon sequestration, regenerative agriculture can also improve water retention and crop productivity, providing multiple benefits for both the climate and agriculture.
4. Compatible with existing land-use practices: Regenerative agriculture can be integrated into existing land-use practices, such as agriculture and forestry.
5. Scalable: It is simple to apply regenerative agriculture on a large scale.

Regenerative agriculture is not a one-size-fits-all solution and may not be appropriate or feasible in all regions, depending on factors such as soil type, climate, and the availability of resources.

The Global Regenerative Agriculture Market Size is valued at 9.08 billion in 2022 and is predicted to reach 31.88 billion by the year 2031 at a 15.17% CAGR during the forecast period for 2023–2031. If you are considering riding this wave by building a startup, we can help you: www.utopiacapital.com.

Ocean alkalinization is also a promising solution. The technique involves adding alkaline substances, such as calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) or olivine (a magnesium silicate mineral), to seawater to increase its alkalinity.

Source: OpenNETs

There are several reasons why I think ocean alkalinization is has strong potential:

1. Large-scale application potential: Oceans cover about 71% of the Earth’s surface, which provides a vast area for implementing ocean alkalinization. The scalability of this method could potentially have a significant impact on atmospheric CO2 levels.
2. Long-term storage of carbon: When alkaline substances react with CO2 in seawater, they form stable carbonate and bicarbonate ions. These ions can eventually precipitate as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of shells or other marine structures, which can be buried in ocean sediments over time, resulting in long-term storage of carbon.
3. Counteracting ocean acidification: Ocean acidification is a major environmental concern caused by the increasing absorption of CO2 by seawater, leading to a decrease in pH. Ocean alkalinization can help counteract this issue by raising the pH of seawater, which can have positive effects on marine ecosystems, especially calcifying organisms such as corals, mollusks, and some species of plankton.

Contrary to popular belief, I believe Ocean Iron Fertilization is very promising. It leverages the ocean’s natural ability to absorb CO₂. This process involves adding iron to certain areas of the ocean to stimulate phytoplankton growth. These microscopic marine plants use photosynthesis to capture carbon from the atmosphere and, upon their death, sink to the deep ocean, effectively sequestering CO₂ for centuries.

Source: OpenNETs

The following advantages of OIF stand out to me:

1. Scalability: As mentioned, oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface, and vast regions of it are iron-deficient. A relatively small addition of iron can trigger significant phytoplankton blooms, offering a large-scale, low-cost carbon sequestration solution.
2. Natural Process Amplification: Rather than relying on artificial mechanisms, OIF enhances the biological pump — a natural carbon cycle that has existed for billions of years — making it a more ecologically aligned solution than some industrial approaches.
3. Potential for Ecosystem Benefits: Phytoplankton blooms can form the base of marine food chains, potentially supporting fisheries and boosting ocean productivity in some regions. In iron-deficient waters, increased phytoplankton growth may provide food for marine organisms, including fish and krill.

The method’s effectiveness depends on how much carbon actually reaches the deep ocean and remains stored over time. Concerns have been raised regarding potential unintended ecological effects, such as altering marine food webs or creating hypoxic zones (low-oxygen areas) due to excessive organic matter decomposition. With long-term monitoring and pilot projects, this approach would remain both safe and effective.

Finally, I believe Methane oxidation is a highly promising and relatively underexplored approach. Methane (CH₄) is over 120 times more potent than CO₂ on a per-molecule basis over a 10-year horizon, making it a prime target for near-term climate stabilization. Despite producing CO₂, the net effect is a significant cooling of the planet, and, as explained above, it could have additional benefits for iron deficient oceans by releasing iron into them.

Here’s why I believe methane oxidation deserves serious attention:

1. Rapid impact: Methane breaks down within a decade, so accelerating its removal yields fast climate benefits.
2. Low-cost: Techniques like Enhanced Atmospheric Methane Oxidation (EAMO) can cost less than $1 per ton of CO₂ equivalent removed.
3. Scalable: Aerosol dispersion over iron-deficient ocean regions can be done at large scale with existing aviation technology.
4. Secondary benefits: Iron aerosols can fertilize phytoplankton, enhancing oceanic carbon sequestration.

Together, these five strategies — enhanced weathering, regenerative agriculture, ocean alkalinization, ocean iron fertilization, and methane oxidation — represent nature-aligned, scalable, and economically viable solutions for reversing climate change. At Utopia Capital, we believe that by investing in technologies that accelerate natural processes, we can restore planetary balance while unlocking immense entrepreneurial value. The race to net negative emissions is not just a necessity — it’s an opportunity.

Conclusion

Enhanced weathering, regenerative agriculture, ocean alkalinization, ocean iron fertilization, and methane oxidation, are among the most promising carbon sequestration solutions, leveraging natural processes and offering additional environmental benefits. This is why at Utopia Capital we are looking to back companies developing these technologies — we believe the financial opportunities they present are massive.

The global demand for sustainable solutions is only growing, and these technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way we approach carbon capture and storage. Furthermore, investing in these solutions is not only a smart business decision, but also necessary for the long-term survival of humans and other species.

If you want a more detailed market outlook, granular forecast, and thorough explanations of Carbon Dioxide Removal technologies, check out the report by IDTechEx.

As an investor, I have an optimistic view of our future. I think we can help drive the changes needed by developing unprecedented solutions in the climate space. In tandem with emission reduction technologies, emission sequestration will disrupt the way we power our world. This would not only stop, but reverse climate change.

Whether you are an experienced founder or new to the field, now is the time to get involved. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to explore potential investments or ideas for startups in climate tech. Our highly experienced team at Utopia Capital can help.