Mati Carbon Opens ERW Data Stress-Testing Tool to the Entire Sector

Mati Carbon, the $50 million Grand Prize winner of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition, has released a free, publicly accessible app that lets users stress-test enhanced rock weathering (ERW) data. The tool was originally developed for Mati Carbon's own internal use, but the company is now opening it up to the broader sector in a deliberate push to strengthen the credibility of ERW as a carbon removal pathway.

The move reflects a growing tension in the ERW space: as commercial deployments scale up, the quality and interpretability of soil data have become defining issues for the integrity of carbon credits. Mati's decision to share its internal tooling openly is a direct response to that challenge, and a signal that the company sees sector-wide data rigor as foundational to its own long-term viability.

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In announcing the release, Mati Carbon stated, "In enhanced rock weathering, distinguishing signal from noise is a perennial problem: the signals are small and soils are noisy. How the sector resolves this will shape the credibility of credits issued."

How the Tool Works

Running Tests Against TiCAT

The app is built around TiCAT, currently the most widely used solid-phase MRV method in the ERW field. TiCAT estimates changes in the total concentration of metal cations in a soil sample relative to titanium, an immobile tracer. Because titanium doesn't move through the soil during weathering, any shift in the ratio of metal cations to titanium can be attributed to ERW activity.

Users can upload or simulate soil datasets, including noisy or low-signal data, and explore how those inputs register as ERW-relevant weathering rates under TiCAT. The app then runs a series of statistical tests to answer three specific questions: Are the observed signals statistically significant? Do the data define credible intervals, such as 68% or 95%? And what is the probability that the signals are false positives?

Built for Planning, Not Just Validation

Mati Carbon emphasized that the tool isn't just a backward-looking audit mechanism. The company shared, "We're using this tool not just to examine what we have but to plan for next season," suggesting it functions as a forward-looking design aid for future field deployments.

Mati has already run its own datasets through the tool and published a dataset it failed internally, citing transparency as a core motivation. The company stated, "We stand behind our results, and these tests are why. We've also published a dataset we failed internally, in the spirit of transparency."

ERW at a Crossroads

Enhanced rock weathering works by spreading crushed silicate rock, typically basalt, across agricultural land. As the rock weathers, it draws down atmospheric CO2 and releases soil nutrients that improve crop yields. Mati Carbon applies this method specifically to smallholder farmland across India, Zambia, and Tanzania, where the co-benefits for food security are significant.

The sector has moved quickly from early-stage pilots into commercial-scale deployment, but MRV remains its most contested frontier. Soil variability, small weathering signals relative to background noise, and inconsistent sampling methodologies have all complicated the task of issuing defensible carbon credits. Independent efforts to improve measurement standards are ongoing across the field, and Mati's new tool contributes to this broader push.

On that point, Mati was direct: whether its own data are ultimately correct is, in its view, a question only the field can answer collectively. As the company put it, "ERW is generating a lot of data now, with much more on the way."

About Mati Carbon

Mati Carbon is a Houston-based public benefit corporation operating as an affiliate of the US nonprofit Swaniti Initiative. The company practices basalt-based ERW on smallholder farmland in India, Zambia, and Tanzania, with a stated mission to bring the practice to 100 million smallholder farmers over 20 years. Its MRV framework was developed in partnership with Yale University and IIT Kanpur, and its carbon credits have been purchased by buyers including Shopify, Stripe, and H&M. The company won the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Grand Prize of $50 million in April 2025, the largest single climate innovation incentive ever awarded.