- Mati Carbon has secured an innovative debt facility from J.P. Morgan to expand its carbon removal business globally. - The financing will enhance the deployment of soil amendments that improve soil health and boost income for smallholder farmers in developing economies. - Mati Carbon has recently won a $50 million grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition. - The organization utilizes enhanced rock weathering to accelerate natural processes that remove CO₂ while restoring nutrients to degraded soils. - This approach has been shown to increase crop yields by an average of 20% for smallholder farmers and reduce reliance on chemical pesticides. - The new financing facility will support scaling carbon dioxide removal solutions and enhance local adaptation efforts. - Shantanu Agarwal, Founder and CEO, expressed that the support will help scale the impact of Enhanced Rock Weathering to more farmers. - The company employs a robust Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification framework developed in collaboration with IIT Kanpur and Yale University. - Funds from the facility will be used to expand operations and technology across India and Sub-Saharan Africa and establish regional laboratories. - J.P. Morgan's Kelly Belcher praised the project for its potential to contribute to global decarbonization and support local economies. - Patrick McGrath from the Schmidt Family Foundation emphasized the importance of partnerships to unlock innovative climate solutions. - By the end of 2025, Mati Carbon aims to partner with 30,000 smallholder farmers in the Global South, including countries like India, Tanzania, and Zambia. - Current buyers of its carbon removal credits include companies like Shopify and H&M. - Mati Carbon’s initiative is supported by the Swaniti Initiative, a non-profit organization. - The project promises significant climate resilience and economic empowerment for millions of farmers over the next two decades.

Mati Carbon secures innovative debt facility to scale its carbon removal business globally and boost climate resilience

News provided by Mati Carbon

May 16, 2025, 08:00 ET

Financing from J.P. Morgan will increase deployment of Mati's crop yield-enhancing soil amendments, boosting soil health, smallholder farmer income, and climate resilience across the Global South

HOUSTON, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mati Carbon ("Mati"), a project to bring economic empowerment to smallholder farmers in developing economies through the sale of durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits, has secured an innovative debt facility from J.P. Morgan that will be used to support the organization's expansion. Negotiated on commercial terms and backed by credit support from the Schmidt Family Foundation, this innovative financing demonstrates the power of institutional capital to facilitate large-scale, durable carbon removal solutions.

Recently named the $50 million grand prize winner of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, Mati Carbon has established itself as a mission-driven, global leader in durable carbon dioxide removal, proving that high-integrity climate solutions with hybrid adaptation and mitigation impact are commercially viable at scale.

Mati's approach leverages the naturally occurring process of rock weathering and accelerates it through enhanced rock weathering (ERW), in which pulverized volcanic rock is applied to farmland. This approach not only removes atmospheric CO₂ but also restores vital nutrients to degraded soils, thereby improving smallholder farmers' crop yields by an average of 20% and reducing the need of additives such as chemical pesticides.

The new blended financing facility from J.P. Morgan, supported by both a leading global bank and a prominent climate-focused philanthropy, is a forward-looking example of how developmental climate finance can be deployed to help scale permanent carbon dioxide removal while boosting locally led adaptation.

"This is a transformative development for climate technology and adaptation financing," said Shantanu Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Mati Carbon. "With support from J.P. Morgan, we will be able to scale the impact and reach of Enhanced Rock Weathering to many more smallholder farmers and prove that high-integrity carbon removal is both financially viable and deeply impactful."

To ensure scientific integrity of its CDR credits, Mati built and deploys a robust Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework for measuring key soil properties and quantifying carbon removal. The MRV was developed in partnership with IIT Kanpur and Yale University.

With this debt facility, Mati is set to rapidly expand its technology and operations across India and Sub-Saharan Africa. The funds will be deployed to expand ERW deployments to new geographies, acquire world-class, high-tech regional laboratory facilities, and develop strategic partnerships to accelerate the global adoption of ERW. This financing reinforces Mati Carbon's strong capital position, enabling it to grow with confidence while also establishing a replicable blended finance blueprint for other potential decarbonization strategies.

Kelly Belcher, Head of Climate Tech at J.P. Morgan, said: "J.P. Morgan is pleased to support Mati Carbon's next phase of growth as they work to bring Enhanced Rock Weathering technology to communities around the world. This work is actively helping to decarbonize the globe, grow local economies and build a more sustainable future."

Patrick McGrath from The Schmidt Family Foundation added: "Mati's approach to Enhanced Rock Weathering has the potential to scale into a major carbon removal solution, and partnerships like this are critical to unlocking that potential. Working together, we can accelerate the path to large-scale deployment while delivering meaningful co-benefits for smallholder farmers in the Global South. This collaboration demonstrates how innovative approaches – in technology and in finance – can drive both climate impact and economic opportunity."

By the end of 2025, Mati Carbon expects to partner with 30,000 smallholder farmers across the Global South, including India, Tanzania, and Zambia. Among its current CDR credit buyers is Shopify and H&M.

About Mati Carbon

The Mati Carbon project is supported by a US 501(c)(3) non-profit, Swaniti Initiative. Mati Carbon accelerates the natural process of rock weathering (ERW) by applying pulverized basalt to croplands of partnered smallholder farmers, at no cost to them. This action has the potential for gigaton scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and promises to build climate resilience and economic empowerment for more than 100 million smallholder farmers in developing economies worldwide over the next 20 years. For more information, visit www.mati.earth.

Media Contact:
Viral Vora, Founders Office, Mati Carbon
contact@mati.earth

SOURCE Mati Carbon