UNDO

UNDO is a world-leading carbon dioxide removal project developer specialising in enhanced rock weathering, a nature-based technology that permanently removes atmospheric CO₂. UNDO’s initial UK operations are focused in northern England and Scotland, and have the capacity to remove 250,000 tonnes of atmospheric CO₂. Since UNDO sources crushed basalt as a by-product, no additional energy is used to procure it, helping UNDO deliver an LCA efficiency of 95% in UK operations to date. Operating at scale in the UK has enabled UNDO to continue to develop leading approaches to monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV).

Co-benefits are central to UNDO’s ERW projects, from supporting rural communities through to soil and crop enhancement. UNDO uses basalt rock, which typically has lower levels of trace metals than other silicates, such as olivine. UNDO ensures all new rock sources are tested by ISO-approved laboratories, helping UNDO understand the mineralogy, and ensure the rock is safe for application at scale on agricultural land.

Throughout the value chain, UNDO is focused on entering into long term partnerships with quarry, haulage and agricultural companies, providing a consistent revenue stream back to agricultural communities, which often face the impacts of climate change first-hand.

While the positive impact of basalt application on soil health is increasingly accepted in the farming space, UNDO is undertaking research in partnership with Newcastle University to gather empirical evidence to support this.

UNDO is a carbon removal company born out of The Future Forest Company. While FFC’s activity centres on reforestation, it soon became clear that tree planting isn’t enough to solve the climate crisis.

Back in 2019, we started exploring naturally occurring carbon removal processes with gigatonne potential, becoming fascinated with enhanced rock weathering. Since then we’ve developed leading scientific, operational and commercial capabilities, with significant learnings from spreading over 20,000 tonnes of crushed basalt rock in the UK & USA.

In 2022, UNDO was created, allowing us to focus entirely on ERW and turn this naturally occurring phenomenon into a commercially viable carbon removal technology. Our sights are firmly set on reaching gigatonne level CO₂ removal each year, alongside delivering significant co-benefits to the communities in which we operate.

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• Stripe Climate - 2021 portfolio - UNDO is part of Stripe’s 2021 Climate Portfolio (as FFC). After significant due diligence, our ERW project was selected for funding, playing a key role in our project scaling and continuous development of our MRV approach.
• The UK’s Tech Nation Net Zero X program - UNDO has been selected for the UK’s Tech Nation Net Zero X programme, designed to support the growth of climate tech companies with exponential potential in the climate space.

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The IPCC AR6 report is clear on the need for carbon removal to be scaled to 10 gigatonnes per year by 2050 to avoid the catastrophic impact of climate change. ERW is one of the CDR technologies cited that has the potential to reach gigatonne levels of CO₂ removal and thus play a key role in reaching the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2100.

UNDO’s company vision is to keep the planet fit for future generations. With a commitment to advance industry-leading expertise across the scientific, operational, and commercial aspects of ERW, we’re creating the foundations to scale high durability CO₂ removal exponentially.

Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher in 2009, Climeworks is on a journey to climate impact at scale.

"Our response to climate change is the defining moment for the planet with nothing less than our survival at stake. Only if we act boldly and quickly will we avert a disaster that is already unfolding"

Jim Mann, CEO, UNDO Carbon