Enhanced rock weathering-focused carbon removal project developer UNDO has announced a new agreement with Barclays, a UK-based bank, to permanently remove over 6,500 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. This initiative will use an accelerated process involving rocks and soil.
This agreement marks Barclays’ inaugural venture into carbon removal, following the bank’s recent achievement of reducing its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 95% by the end of 2024. Barclays aims to become a net-zero bank by 2050, with a strategy focused on decarbonising its most emissions-intensive operations.
Daniel Hanna, Global Head of Sustainable and Transition Finance at Barclays, expressed the bank’s commitment to complementing its net-zero operations strategy through investment in permanent carbon removal. He highlighted UNDO’s scalable enhanced rock weathering approach as pioneering and significant for the bank’s sustainability goals.
Founded in 2022, London-based UNDO develops carbon removal projects based on enhanced rock weathering. The company’s technology accelerates the natural geological process of weathering by distributing crushed silicate rock onto agricultural land. This process, facilitated by soil plants and microbes, removes CO2 and enriches the soil with essential nutrients.
UNDO was recently recognised as a $5 million winner in the [XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition](https://www.esgtoday.com/elon-musk-backed-xprize-awards-100-million-to-carbon-removal-solutions-providers/), which supports scalable carbon dioxide removal solutions.
As part of the agreement, UNDO will distribute finely crushed silicate rock across 10,000 acres of farmland in Ontario, Canada. The rock captures and stores CO2 in rainwater and soil, where it naturally weathers and is ultimately transported to the oceans for long-term storage.
Jim Mann, Founder and CEO of UNDO, stated that this agreement is a significant endorsement of UNDO’s potential for rapid scaling. He noted that with support from forward-thinking organisations like Barclays, UNDO is expanding enhanced rock weathering in farming communities, delivering benefits such as stronger soils, healthier crops, and higher yields. This partnership underscores the expansion of one of the most impactful carbon removal solutions available today.
