Terradot-Eion deal signals a step in CO2 removal consolidation
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Terradot, a CO2 removal startup with big-name backers, is acquiring the assets of removal firm Eion. Terms weren't disclosed.
Why it matters: Consolidation is probably inevitable in the CO2 removal space, given the vast number of startups trying to scale and the drop in venture finance.
State of play: Both companies employ enhanced rock weathering (ERW) — speeding natural CO2 absorption into minerals by spreading crushed materials on farmlands.
Catch up quick: Terradot launched in 2024 with Google, Microsoft, John Doerr and Sheryl Sandberg as backers. It has focused on basalt-spreading projects in Brazil. Clients include Google and the Frontier consortium.
Driving the news: Terradot is getting contracts, IP, assets, staff and more from the U.S.-focused Eion, which works with the mineral olivine and has 100,000+ tons of removal deals via Frontier and Microsoft.
- Eion CEO Ana Pavlovic will join Terradot's leadership.
- The combined company will have over 400,000 tons under contract.
Threat level: CO2 removal faces scaling challenges as climate struggles for oxygen on diplomatic and corporate agendas.
What we're watching: Whether more tie-ups arrive as the young industry remains under pressure.
- Pavlovic, the Eion CEO, tells the WSJ that her firm approached Terradot with the idea of getting acquired.
- "She said sovereign-wealth funds and similar investors only wanted to invest large sums of capital in projects, between $50 million and $200 million, and Eion was too small. Consolidation, therefore, was the way forward," the paper reports.
The bottom line: "With the acquisition, Terradot is positioned to be a consolidator in ERW, combining diversified projects, proven operating capability, and rigorous [monitoring, reporting and verification] under one global platform," the announcement states.
