Lithos Carbon supplies and applies crushed basalt rock dust to farmers’ fields to accelerate natural weathering and sequester atmospheric CO2 while functioning as a lime replacement and soil amendment. Farmers send soil data, acreage and lime-application details to Lithos, and the company’s software prescribes precise basalt quantities to avoid under- or over-application and to optimize carbon removal and crop performance. The startup works with farmers in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast and reports capturing over 2,000 tons of carbon this year, with field trials showing yield improvements of 5% to 47%. Lithos currently applies basalt for free, funding operations primarily through carbon removal credit sales; it has sold 640 tons of carbon to Frontier at $500 per ton and reports “very healthy positive profit margins.” The company’s models and validation testing are grounded in research by co‑founders Noah Planavsky and Chris Reinhard and account for runoff, transport and other logistical factors. Lithos says it can capture CO2 for as little as $50 per metric ton and believes enhanced weathering could scale to gigaton levels, though transportation and sourcing basalt closer to fields are key cost challenges.

Total raised

$6M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Oct 2022