Restoration Pathway
Enhanced Rock Weathering
Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) spreads finely crushed silicate rock — typically basalt — onto agricultural land, accelerating a natural chemical process that draws CO₂ from the atmosphere and stores it as stable bicarbonate minerals over geological timescales.
Mechanism
How It Works
Natural rock weathering is one of Earth's primary long-term carbon sinks: silicate minerals react with CO₂ dissolved in rainwater, producing bicarbonate ions that are carried by rivers to the ocean and stored for millions of years. This process occurs over geological time — ERW accelerates it by grinding silicate rock to fine particles, dramatically increasing the reactive surface area. Applied to agricultural fields, crushed basalt weathers rapidly, drawing down atmospheric CO₂ while releasing calcium, magnesium, and silica that improve soil chemistry and crop nutrition. The resulting bicarbonates are leached into groundwater and eventually the ocean, where the carbon is stored durably.
Carbon Profile
Permanence
Effectively permanent — geological timescale storage as ocean bicarbonate
Stability
Very high — inorganic bicarbonate storage in ocean is among the most durable carbon sinks known
Verification
Quantified using soil and water geochemical analysis; third-party verified against published ERW methodologies.
Rock has been drawing down carbon since before life walked the land. We are not inventing a new process — we are returning to one Earth has always known.
Co-Benefits
Soil Remineralisation
Basalt releases calcium, magnesium, and silica — nutrients that replenish weathered tropical and subtropical soils.
Crop Yield
Improved soil mineral balance and pH correction consistently support yield improvements in deficient soils.
Reduced Synthetic Inputs
Mineral nutrients from basalt can partially substitute for synthetic fertilisers, reducing input costs and associated emissions.
Soil pH Correction
Basalt weathering raises soil pH, addressing acid soil conditions common in intensive agricultural areas.
Scientific Basis
Scientific Basis
ERW's carbon removal mechanism is grounded in well-established geochemistry — the same process that has regulated atmospheric CO₂ over Earth's deep history. Field trials across multiple continents have confirmed measurable CO₂ drawdown and bicarbonate export from basalt-amended soils. Measurement approaches use soil inorganic carbon analysis, pore water chemistry, and geochemical mass balance modelling. The science is advancing rapidly, with major research programmes underway in the UK, USA, and India validating ERW at agricultural scale.