January 28, 2025 – The Climate Intervention Environmental Impact Fund (CIEIF; https://cieif.org/) is pleased to announce completion of its third round of $75,000 grants towards environmental impact analysis for climate restoration projects. The three new grantees are:
Bennu Climate, Inc., ( www.bennuclimate.com/ ) – a California start-up whose ultraviolet (UV) light-based technology permanently eliminates excess methane in the atmosphere.
Frost Methane ( www.frostmethane.com/ ) – an Alaskan company with a proven flaring technique that neutralizes methane from manure ponds, abandoned coal mines, permafrost methane vents, and landfills.
ZeroEx ( https://zeroex.com/en ) – a start-up based in Stuttgart, Germany, dedicated to refining techniques for safe and effective enhanced rock weathering (ERW), which permanently sequesters carbon dioxide.
CIEIF’s decision-making team consists of Peter Jenkins, Fund Manager; Renaud de Richter, PhD., Science Advisor; and John Fitzgerald, Legal Advisor. They narrowed numerous applications down based on several factors, including their clarity, their long-term potential for climate benefits, and the applicants’ commitment to publishing the results of their environmental impact assessments (EIA). All grantees will publish their impact-related results either in a peer-reviewed journal or as a publicly available report with independent peer review. One of CIEIF’s primary goals is to increase understanding about the potential risks and benefits of various climate interventions.
Bennu’s UV photostimulation achieves low-cost and scalable methane destruction. The company’s technology permanently removes varying concentrations of the dangerous greenhouse gas methane directly from an air stream. CIEIF is supporting the development of a comprehensive EIA for the company’s small-scale field test, in the open ocean aboard a commercial ship. Bennu’s long-term goal is to remove methane at the multi-megaton scale to help reduce the level of global temperature rise.
Frost Methane intends to understand the broader environmental effects of installing its “cover-and-flare” systems on livestock farm manure ponds, beyond just methane mitigation. These effects may include production of NOx in the biogas flaring process, reductions in N2O and NH3 emissions from manure resulting from covering manure ponds, manure nitrogen content changes, and changes in farmer manure management practices as a result of the cover-and-flare system. Developing a comprehensive understanding of the on-farm environmental impacts will enable quantification of the co-benefits and potential risks of this novel technology for farmers and for rural areas more broadly. An EIA conducted on one or more of Frost Methane’s current cover-and-flare deployment field tests will support broader adoption of its technology across the hundreds of thousands of livestock farms with concentrated manure ponds globally.
ZeroEx is field-testing ERW in southern Germany to assess the natural sink for carbon dioxide via silicate rock weathering. In ZeroEx’s case, crushed silicate rock similar to basalt (available from local mines) is spread over agricultural lands, which also enhances soil fertility. While ZeroEx operates within stringent EU guidelines, the environmental risks of ERW more generally are poorly understood. ZeroEx will use the grant for a 3-year field trial to investigate any potentially toxic elements (PTE) resulting in plants, soil, and leachate samples. It will work closely with EIA experts who will independently assess the risks, if any, of PTEs from ZeroEx’s operations. The EIA will enable the safe deployment of ERW locally and, through publications of ZeroEx’s analyses, it could help guide ERW globally.
More details about all three projects will be made available at cieif.org/current-grants.
CIEIF also is announcing another round of three grants with award amounts of $75,000 each. The deadline for applications is August 1, 2025. Innovative climate intervention projects worldwide in need of funding for focused environmental impact assessment, impact modeling, and/or public-stakeholder outreach are encouraged to apply. Details of the eligibility requirements are at: cieif.org/what-we-do and cieif.org/guidelines-for-grant-applicants/.
CIEIF will issue future reminders of this August 2025 opportunity. To receive them directly, go to cieif.org/ and Sign Up for Updates.