$50M Grand Prize to be Awarded in 2025 to Finalist that Demonstrates Solution that Removes and Sequesters Carbon Dioxide from Atmosphere or Oceans
AMSTERDAM, May 8, 2024 — Kelp Blue, an innovative seaweed company that seeks to restore marine biodiversity and promote carbon sequestration to support a healthier ocean ecosystem, was today named as one of 20 finalists by the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition. The XPRIZE is a four-year $100 million global competition that is one of the largest incentive prizes in history. It is open to innovators and teams that can create and demonstrate solutions that pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans and sequester it durably and sustainably. The 20 finalists will vie for a $50M grand prize to be announced in 2025.
Founded in 2020, Kelp Blue is at the forefront of developing innovative and sustainable solutions based on the cultivation of giant kelp. From its primary operations based in Luderitz, Namibia, the company is focused on addressing important global challenges such as climate change, marine biodiversity loss, and job creation—inspired by the global shift towards sustainable practices and environmental stewardship.
Kelp Blue’s cultivation approach requires no fertilizers, pesticides, land, or freshwater. As one of the fastest-growing organisms, Giant Kelp offers diverse applications in a multitude of products from pharmaceuticals to textiles, plastic replacements and more. These products are made by harvesting just the canopy of the kelp, leaving the rest of the forest in place to restore marine biodiversity, promote carbon sequestration and support a healthier ocean ecosystem. Kelp Blue’s most developed product is a biostimulant, StimBlue+, that boosts crop yields and increases crop resilience, reducing the need for chemical inputs. This empowers farmers to move towards regenerative agriculture and eliminates toxic byproduct from fertilizer run offs into the world’s oceans.
Daniel Hooft, founder and CEO of Kelp Blue, commented, “We are thrilled to be named as one of the top 20 finalists for XPRIZE Carbon Removal’s grand prize out of 1,300 vetted submissions. Our project achieves a number of things: locking away carbon, restoring and enriching marine biodiversity, and bringing meaningful diverse employment opportunities to fragile coastal economies—thereby reducing extractive pressures on marine resources. And very significantly, these nature-positive and social impacts are a side-effect of an elegant, harmonious commercial activity—so do not require a single cent in additional investment. Our cost per ton of sequestering carbon is zero. As we move into the final stage of this prestigious competition, we are confident that we will be able to showcase Kelp Blue as a viable, proven, and sustainable solution to combating climate change while contributing to local economies and livelihoods. To make a positive change and impact on the environment, we need a collaborative effort and a diverse range of high-quality carbon removal solutions to avoid the worst effects of climate change and we are proud to be listed among the top 20 companies offering carbon removal solutions around the world.”
XPRIZE Carbon Removal is aimed at tackling the biggest threat facing humanity—fighting climate change and rebalancing Earth’s carbon cycle. A viable carbon negative solution is eligible to compete, whether its nature-based, direct air capture, oceans, mineralization, or an alternative that achieves net negative emissions, sequesters CO2 durably, and shows a sustainable path to achieving low cost at gigatonne scale. The grand prize from XPRIZE will be granted to the candidate that demonstrates a working solution at a scale of at least 1,000 tonnes removed per year; model their costs at a scale of 1 million tonnes per year; and can show a pathway to achieving a scale of gigatonnes per year in the future.
Nikki Batchelor, Executive Director, XPRIZE Carbon Removal: “This cohort of exceptional teams represents a diversity of innovations and solutions across a range of CDR pathways, and shows the significant progress the industry is making in a short period of time. Over the past three years, this competition has helped accelerate the pace of technology development for a whole new industry of high-potential solutions aimed at reversing climate change.”
Anousheh Ansari, CEO, XPRIZE: “For the world to effectively address greenhouse gas emissions, carbon removal is an essential element of the path to Net Zero. There’s no way to reverse humanity’s impact on the climate without extracting carbon from our atmosphere and oceans. We need a range of bold, innovative CDR solutions to manage the vast quantities of CO2 released into our environment and impacting our planet. The teams that have been competing for this Prize are all part of building a set of robust and effective solutions and our 20 teams advancing to the final stage of XPRIZE Carbon Removal will have an opportunity to demonstrate their potential to have a significant impact on the climate.”
Kelp Blue measures its success with “four returns” indicators: Return on Inspiration, driving transformative change and inspiring people of all ages and walks of life to take action to improve our world; Return on Natural Capital, where they prioritize planetary health and biodiversity; Return on Social Capital, ensuring positive impact in every operation; and Return on Financial Capital, aimed at exceptional shareholder returns to amplify their impact.
About Kelp Blue
Kelp Blue, founded in 2020, is at the forefront of sustainable innovation, specializing in the cultivation of giant kelp. With its primary operations based in Luderitz, Namibia, Kelp Blue is committed to addressing global challenges such as climate change, marine biodiversity loss and job creation. Kelp Blue recognizes the transformative power of inspiration in fostering positive change. By cultivating giant kelp, the company seeks to restore marine biodiversity, promote carbon sequestration, support healthier ocean ecosystems and inspire a global shift towards sustainable practices and environmental stewardship. Please visit our website for more information, at Kelp Blue.
About XPRIZE
XPRIZE is an established global leader in designing, launching, and executing large scale competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. Our unique model democratizes innovation by incentivizing crowd-sourced, scientifically viable solutions to create a more equitable and abundant future for all. Donate, learn more or join a team at xprize.org.
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