Indigo Carbon Challenge

Focusing global innovators on agriculture to address climate change

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Focusing global innovators on agriculture to address climate change

The Indigo Carbon Challenge rallied innovators to develop agricultural solutions that accelerate and quantify the drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide into agricultural soils.

The Challenge focused on three critical areas: methods to quantify soil carbon, technologies that accelerate soil carbon sequestration, and innovative financial offerings that reward growers for capturing and maintaining soil carbon.

Meet the Challenge Winners

After 19 months of competition and progress, 260 projects submitted from 44 countries, and a year-long virtual incubation cohort, we're excited to congratulate the winners of the Indigo Carbon Challenge: Laserag, BiogeaMx, and American Farmland Trust.

Meet the winners

Addressing Climate Change from the
Ground Up

By developing innovative agricultural technologies to support the drawdown of carbon dioxide into soils, Indigo Carbon Challenge participants are infusing the nature-based solutions space with much needed agricultural solutions.

Learn more about Indigo Carbon

Putting Ideas to the Test

We believe the best lab for testing innovative agricultural solutions is the farm itself. Qualifying Indigo Carbon Challenge Semifinalists had the opportunity to test their solutions on real-world farms in the US and overseas, including on Indigo Research Partners (IRP) sites, the world’s largest agricultural lab.

Explore the world’s largest ag lab

Semifinalists chosen

265

applications received

countries applied from

awarded

3500

in cash prizes for submitting ideas

up to

3000000

in potential contracts awarded

up to

60000

in total grant prizes
($20k per track)

Challenge Overview

The Indigo Carbon Challenge wrapped up in January 2021 and supported agtech solutions as they scaled.

Application

July - October 2019

During this 10-week period, applicants from all around the world, at all stages of development, submitted soil carbon sequestration solutions across three Challenge tracks.

Cohort Selection

October - November 2019

A panel of judges including thought leaders, academics, and entrepreneurs reviewed proposals in search of solutions with an explicit impact on carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, with demonstrated tech validation, and a clear plan for testing and results within the 2020 growing season. Semifinalists were announced on November 1, 2019.

Onboarding

November 2019 – January 2020

Semifinalists joined a cohort with access to mentors, expert speakers, real-world experimentation, and entrepreneurial resources.

Experimentation & Refinement

February - October 2020

During this time, select Semifinalists piloted their solutions on research acres, real-world farms, or remotely. Semifinalists connected with and received mentorship from industry experts as they continued to refine their solutions and business models.

Demonstration & Evaluation

October - December 2020

The Indigo Carbon team is reviewing experimental results and assessing each Semifinalist's technology, business model, and commercial readiness.

Finalist Selection & Awards

December 2020 - January 2021

complete

A Finalist from each Challenge track will be awarded up to $20,000 in equity-free grants. Select Finalists with effective and scalable solutions will be eligible for up to $3M in contracts, all while maintaining business independence and IP rights to their solution.

July - October 2019

During this 10-week period, applicants from all around the world, at all stages of development, submitted soil carbon sequestration solutions across three Challenge tracks.

October - November 2019

November 2019 – January 2020

Semifinalists joined a cohort with access to mentors, expert speakers, real-world experimentation, and entrepreneurial resources.

February - October 2020

October - December 2020

The Indigo Carbon team is reviewing experimental results and assessing each Semifinalist's technology, business model, and commercial readiness.

December 2020 - January 2021

The 2019-2020 Indigo Carbon Challenge cohort brought together more than 30 innovators from 5 countries across 20+ technology areas to advance solutions that catalyze the drawdown of carbon dioxide into agricultural soils.

Accelerate

Quantify

Reward

Since the dawn of agriculture, significant amounts of soil carbon have been released as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Agricultural soils have the ability and capacity to reabsorb this carbon when beneficial farming practices are used. The Accelerate track sought novel products, processes, or services that accelerate the rate at which carbon dioxide is sequestered and maintained in cropland soils.

AG Energy

On-farm biochar production

Winner

Biogea

Mycorrhizael root growth stimulator

GSR Solutions

Microalgael CO2 capture

Amata Green

Mobile pyrolizer for biochar production

Soil Works

Calcium input to enhance aerobic zone

CSU & Leprino Foods

Lactobionate to benefit soil health

WISErg

Upcycling food scraps to create fertilizers

Organilock

Enriching biomass to feed soil ecosystems

Earnest Earth

On-site bioreactors to create fertilizer

EkoGea

Prebiotic SOC microbial metabolizer

Conventional methods of quantifying soil carbon require soil core sample collection, transportation, and lab analysis to deliver accurate and precise results. While these methods are trusted and widely adopted, they can be time consuming, labor intensive, and expensive. The Quantify track sought to catalyze soil carbon sampling and measurement systems that are efficient, accurate, and low-cost.

SoilReader

Real-time multi-depth soil analysis

SoilOptix

High resolution, predictive soil maps

Winner

LaserAg

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

MicroBIOMETER

Soil microbial biomass analysis

Arva

AI-Assisted aerial SOC monitoring

Cloud Agronomics

Aerial hyperspectral SOC monitoring

Haystack

Hand-held FTIR spectroscopy

X-centric

Volumetric X-Ray SOC measurement

Platfarm

Mobile SOC baseline tool

Plant Group

SOC via phone camera

Rabbit Tractors

Robotic Soil Sampling

AgriCarbon UK

Soil carbon management tool

Smart Cloud Farming

AI-assisted soil carbon tool

Agerris

Autonomous surveying and sampling

Hone

Portable, AI-powered soil measurement tool

Growers have not been financially motivated to view soil carbon as a critical input to the profitability of their farming operations. The Reward track sought novel financial products and services that reward growers for sequestering soil carbon and drive adoption of beneficial management practices.

Land Core

Land lease platform

Winner

American Farmland Trust

Education platform for NOL's

Farm Together

Farmland investment platform

EnTrade

Marketplace for ecosystem services

Explore other tracks

Thank you to our partners for their support in this global effort.

Trust the agricultural community. They will join this fight against climate change, and they will sequester carbon. I have a lot of confidence in the innovation and the spirit of farmers.

Jacques Nault, LaserAg, Quantify Track winner

Get Involved

Partner With Us

Join partners like those listed above to help us develop an enduring challenge framework that engages innovators from across the globe to develop ag solutions that address climate change.

Get in touch

Meet the Winners

Learn more about the three Indigo Carbon Challenge winners: LaserAg, Biogea, and American Farmland Trust.

Indigo Carbon Challenge

Focusing global innovators on agriculture to address climate change

Meet the Challenge Winners

Addressing Climate Change from the Ground Up

Putting Ideas to the Test

Our Partners

Trust the agricultural community. They will join this fight against climate change, and they will sequester carbon. I have a lot of confidence in the innovation and the spirit of farmers.

Get Involved

Partner With Us

Meet the Winners

Addressing Climate Change from the
Ground Up