We're honored to announce the 2025 Carbon Removal Challenge finalists!!! These five finalist student teams were selected from the 53 international teams that participated in this year’s CRC.

Our international panel of almost 30 international carbon removal experts looked at all the submissions to this year’s Challenge. Each project was evaluated by at least four judges and after tabulating the results, we are delighted to announce the five winning teams that will traveling to NYC in May to present at the Carbon Unbound Conference!

Each team will receive a travel stipend for travel and per diem, plus free hotel accommodations for the duration of their stay. They will also receive passes to the Carbon Unbound summit, a C level conference that will allow them to meet potential funders, employers, and mentors to help them in their carbon removal journey!

Please join us in congratulating these young innovators who demonstrate all the passion, intelligence, and dedication to become the carbon removal leaders of tomorrow!

The 2025 Carbon Removal Challenge Finalists

Here are the finalists teams that will be presenting in NYC for the Carbon Removal Challenge Finalist Showcase:

EPFL Carbon Team

Team Members:
Alizée André, Julian Barth, Patrick Menegalli, Nicola Zali, Eloi Bernier, Arsenijs Danilko, Renata Mendoza, Matteo Piras, Estelle Baumann
School:
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Location:
Lausanne, Switzerland
Summary:
The EPFL Carbon Team, based in Lausanne, is developing a Direct Air Capture system to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere. With a hybrid approach combining adsorbants and graphene membranes, we aim to create scalable, energy-efficient solution.

WatAir: Open-Source Moisture-Swing DAC System with Microalgae CO2 Sequestration

Team Members:
Robert Duff, Laurel Pierroz-Wong, Katherine Nguyen
School:
University of Waterloo
Location:
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Summary:
The WatAIR prototype is an open-source, open-access direct air capture (DAC) device employing a novel phosphate-activated moisture-swing adsorbent in fluidized bed reactor configuration and C. vulgaris microalgae for CO2 sequestration.

Carbon Capture Direct

Team Members:
Ethan Milroy, Robbie Carey, Harrison Waddell, Mateen Khalatbari, Peter Fleming
School:
Western University & Ivey Business School
Location:
London, Ontario, Canada
Summary:
How do we decarbonize effectively in a competitive business environment? CCD disrupts the CO₂ market by using an efficient DACC device. Promising low cost and on-site CO₂ to users. Low cost, reliable, innovative, Carbon Capture Direct.

ELECTROCEAN

Team Members:
Jason Qin, Faith Qin, Gabriel Boyd
School:
UC Berkley
Stanford University
Purdue University
Locations:
Berkeley, California, USA
Stanford, California, USA
West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Summary:
We present a novel mCDR solution leveraging in-situ seawater electrolysis to durably sequester CO₂ as limestone while enhancing coastal ecosystems and co-producing hydrogen and aquaculture, yielding profits independent of carbon markets.

Terrapump

Team Members:
Aidan Mickleburgh
School:
University of Michigan
Location:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, US
Summary:
Terrapump seeks to utilize the solubility pump and kinetics of liquid-gas reactions to improve the durable sequestration of CO2 in the ocean by using a wave-powered compressor to push air through the water column through microbubbles.

Learn more about the Carbon Removal Challenge

To learn more about the CRC, please visit our webpage: https://openaircollective.com/crc/

And check out this short documentary about the 2024 CRC and see what a great opportunity this was for the participants:

You might also want to check out the launch webinar giving background and an overview for the 2025 CRC: