The Golden Gateway to Carbon Removal Pioneers in the Americas

Oli Katz - Co-Founder & CEO, Unbound
Chantal Spit - Head of Production, Unbound

Carbon Unbound is partnering with Terraset to create a first-of-its-kind event activation to unlock philanthropic capital and catalyse permanent carbon removal. Leveraging Terraset's tax-deductible vehicle for carbon removal, we’re calling on our audience to make history and drive real impact by allocating dollars to a portfolio of incredible CDR companies, which is then used to purchase CDR. 

• Andes
• Capture6
• Charm Industrial
• Climeworks
• Graphyte
• Heirloom
• Octavia
• Planetary
• Spiritus
• TerraFixing

With the top 10 buyers combined representing ~92% of purchases, and a growing removals gap, our goal is to change the narrative around CDR purchasing, spotlight some incredible CDR providers and leverage the summit to make a quantifiable, tons removed difference while ensuring transparency and enhancing trust. 

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Putting our money where our mouth is, Unbound is matching Marketplace donations up to $10,000. Join us in allocating tax-deductible $$$ to CDR and showcase your commitment to accelerating us to gigaton-scale!

Kevin Niparko - Co-Founder, CDR.fyi
Oliver Katz - Co-Founder & CEO, Unbound
Taylor Insley - Director of Strategic Growth, Terraset
Tito Jankowski - Co-Founder & CEO, AirMiners

• Policies that create demand for carbon removals are needed to increase CDR innovation and scale-up. State-level action is on the rise. Which states have made significant progress in the last two years, and how?
• US States are the laboratories of higher policy and offer, in many ways, more direct pathways for impact. These state CDR policies vary significantly, reflecting diverse approaches and levels of commitment to decarbonization. What are the most significant policies in leading ‘CDR states’?
• Besides policies, incentives for carbon removal vary widely, reflecting each state's unique priorities and resources. What can new ‘state’ players learn from CDR leading states, and how do regional variations impact the policy choice? 
• Efforts in policy work have shifted. Newer and underserved solutions (ERW, BICRS, mCDR, etc.) are currently taking the spotlight from DAC. What are the motivations for this shift?   
• California is leading the way in CDR; however, other states have different or opposing views. How do you find common ground that can work for companies and their clients who work interstate?

Wil Burns - Co-Director, Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal

Giana Amador - Executive Director, Carbon Removal Alliance
Kyle Clark-Harris - Manager Carbon Removal Policy, RMI
Nora Cohen Brown - Head of Market Development & Policy, Charm Industrial
Quinn Antus - Program Manager Emerging Market Carbon Management/CDR, Colorado Energy Office

Diego Saez-Gil - Founder & CEO, Pachama
Stacy Kauk - Head of Science, Isometric

• Where are the credits coming from?
• What are the different types of projects (Nature-based Solutions vs Novel) and types of credits (removal vs avoidance)
• What determines a high-quality project?
• What are the beneficiaries' most important needs? For example, the project's finance ability, the sustainability of inputs, actual construction and duration, permeance risk, leakage, and additionality.

Brian Hartmann - President, NorthStar Clean Energy

Invite-Only Breakout Session - CDR-curious buyers come together and learn about how to make a purchase, the benefits of including CDR in their sustainability roadmap, and how to choose the right strategy for their company.

Adina Mangubat - Accelerator Director, AirMiners
Elias Cain - CDR Funding Portfolio Manager,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Jason Grillo - Strategic Partnerships, AirMiners
Tito Jankowski - Co-Founder & CEO, AirMiners

Experienced start-up leaders share their scale-up journey, and key learnings around investment strategy and partnership selection.

Lisa DeMarco - Senior Partner & CEO, Resilient LLP

Brennan Spellacy - CEO & Co-Founder, Patch
Diego Saez-Gil - Founder & CEO, Pachama
Steve Oldham - CEO, Captura

CDR needs stable, multi-year demand to scale. That foundation can and should come from government because CDR is a public good. But this requires policy that is resilient to political shifts, like a possible new administration after the US election. How do we build both demand and resilience in CDR policy, in the US and beyond?

Anu Khan - Founder & Executive Director, Carbon Removal Standards Initiative

Organisations invite attendees to participate in intimate discussions about critical challenges related to CDR development. The session culminates in the delegation sharing new ideas.

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1. Standardizing to Scale: How can we Develop Global CDR Benchmarks?

Russell Karas – SVP, Head of Commodities, Xpansiv

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2. Unlocking Funding for Electrochemistry-Based CDR: A Guide for Startups, Investors, & Research Funders

Silvan Aeschlimann - CDR Advisor, Third Derivative

Charithea Charalambous - Research & Diligence Senior Associate, Third Derivative

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3. CDR Co-Benefits: How Can We Maximise Positive Impact?

Fiona Perera - Manager, Methodology Development & Innovations – Gold Standard

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4. Empowering the Global South: Scaling Carbon Removal with Smallholder Farmers

Matt Rickard - COO, Biochar Life

Mona Singh, Global Head of Data Integrity & Technology, Biochar Life

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5. Understanding Quality & Risks in Nature-Based Carbon Removal

Ross Bernet - Carbon Removal Buyer & Senior Program Manager, Microsoft

Lizzie Aldrich - Vice President of Business Development, Anew 

Amrita Vatsal - Managing Director for Business Development, Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM)

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6. Energizing DAC: The Massive Opportunity for Clean Energy Providers

Patricia Loria - VP of Business Development, CarbonCapture 

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7. How can Governments (Federal, State, & Local) Help to Create a Robust CDR Market?‍

Elias Cain - CDR Funding Portfolio Manager, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Quinn Antus - Program Manager Emerging Market Carbon Management/CDR, Colorado Energy Office

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8. The Road to Credible CDR: Insights from Climate Vault's RFP Program

Brynn Esterly - Head of Carbon Removal Solutions, Climate Vault

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9. Removing Barriers: How Pioneering Buyers Can Unleash Scope 3 Solutions In The Built World

Jesse Hudecki - Head of Carbon Products & Partnerships, CarbonCure 

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10. Biochar Co-Benefits: Maximizing Revenue & Climate Mitigation by Developing End-Use Markets

Myles Gray - Executive Director, US Biochar Initiative

Jason Dodier - Co-Founder & CCO, Grain Ecosystem 

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11. Sourcing Carbon Credits for 2024 & 2025: Networking Between Buyers & Suppliers

Jason Grillo - Strategic Partnerships, AirMiners

Tito Jankowski - Co-Founder & CEO, AirMiners

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12. The Opportunity for Biomass-Based CDR in the American West: Pathways that Reduce Wildfire Risk & Store Carbon

Justin Freiberg -  Managing Director, Carbon Containment Lab

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13. Unlocking the Talent Landscape in Carbon Solutions

Tom Rochford - Director of Energy & Clean Technologies Americas, Acre

• The Department of Energy recently issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) for $1.8B of DAC Hubs funding. How is the DAC sector and stakeholders viewing this opportunity, and what feedback would you have for the Department of Energy as they work to finalize the funding opportunity?
• From a global perspective, what role does policy and the public sector have to play in driving DAC deployment and reducing costs across different markets
• What are the greatest barriers to deployment facing the DAC sector, and what are the pathways forward to addressing these challenges? Are these barriers more related to technology, financing, policy, or something else?

Jason Hochman - Co-Founder & Executive Director, The DAC Coalition

Charlie Renzoni - Vice President Carbon Markets, Deep Sky
David Elenowitz - Founder & CEO, Zero Carbon Systems
Kajsa Hendrickson - Director of Policy, Carbon180

As corporate and government net zero commitments draw near, more investment and demand for CDR solutions – across both nature and technology – are set to grow. How is the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) evolving to meet the net zero challenge?  

• What’s the current state of the VCM (late 2024)? Is it fair to consider VCM at an “Inflection Point” in its evolution?
• What role is VCM now playing in driving CDR vs. the role it must play to reach net zero?
• Why is there growing attention paid to CDR “portfolio approaches”? What’s driving the portfolio approach model, and how might these be structured?
• What specific insights can be shared on incorporating nature (soil, forest) carbon into buyer portfolios, and how effective is MRV for these types?
• What’s the current state of the VCM with respect to CDR across project and buyer types? What about geographic trends?
• What actions are being taken – or should be taken – by stakeholders across the CDR market to restore trust and build liquidity? 
• Various net zero and VCM integrity ‘meta-standards’ are underway. How are these progressing, and what should we watch through 2025? Why do these efforts matter for outlooks on CDR planning & investment activities by corporates? 
• How are compliance carbon markets influencing VCM evolution in North America? Will CDR become more compliance-driven in California and beyond (if so, when)?

Katie Sullivan - Managing Director, IETA

Carl Berglund - Co-Founder & CCO, Nordbex
Ida Hempel - Vice President, Galvanize Climate Solutions
Shannon Smith - Chief Commercial Officer, Chestnut Carbon
Toby Janson-Smith - Chief Program Development & Innovation Officer, Verra

Start-Up your engines! A selection of investors will be positioned in the breakout room, ready to meet start-ups.. Start-ups take a seat and have 3 minutes before a bell is rung, at which point they move to the next investor.

XPRIZE finalists and Innovative start-ups will present their cutting-edge CDR solutions and business cases to a panel of investor judges.

Alex Kopelyan - Senior Director & Partner IndieBio, SOSV
Benjamin Schulz - Founder, X-SAF

Keeton Ross - Co-Founder & President, Holocene
Mark Cyffka - Co-Founder & COO, AirMyne
Michelle Torelli - CEO & Co-Founder, CarbonForge Technologies Inc
Tetsuo Moriyama - CEO, Carbon Xtract Corporation

• Potential scale and status of CDR in the mining sector: where are we now and where are we heading?
• Market incentives: outside of the VCM, what key opportunities exist for different market strategies?
• Challenges: What key challenges need to be tackled to help with the adoption of CDR in the mining sector?

Bart de Baere - Senior Geochemist, WSP Canada Inc

Cara Maesano - Manager Climate Aligned Industries, RMI
Rhys Savage - Carbon Removal Scientist, Isometric
Sean Lowrie - Head of External Affairs, Arca

Open-system pathways, such as ocean alkalinity enhancement and enhanced rock weathering (ERW), offer promising solutions for gigaton-scale carbon removal. Join us to learn the latest on how these approaches are advancing effectively and sustainably through rigorous measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV). Panellists will discuss the unique co-benefits of open-system strategies and the crucial role that data transparency plays in building trust and fostering the growth of these vital climate solutions.

Ben Tarbell - CEO, Ebb Carbon

Kate Richmond - Principal Engineer, Industrial & Climate Tech, Synapse Product Development
Katie Sierks - Carbon Removal Senior Program Manager, Microsoft

Join team members from Frontier, a durable carbon removal coalition, for coffee and a tactical discussion about how to approach carbon removal procurement. This session is aimed at current and potential buyers and will cover: 

• What criteria should buyers consider when evaluating the risk and potential of early projects? How should buyers think about portfolio construction? 
• How can buyers structure contracts for multi-year offtakes for early carbon removal? 
• What is the role of purchasing today for buyers with future net zero commitments?
• What are the different purchasing options - marketplaces, coalitions, advisories, bilateral deals – that buyers can use? 

Hannah Bebbington - Head of Deployment, Frontier
Joanna Klitzke - Procurement & Ecosystem Strategy Lead, Frontier

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Randy Spock - Carbon Credits & Removals Lead, Google

Dan Harburg - CTO, Mombak
Keeton Ross - Co-Founder & President, Holocene

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• Over the past year, the volume of purchases has increased, but the number of companies purchasing has yet to. What is prohibiting new buyers from entering the market? 
• Many companies are still prioritising their own emission reductions over-investing in carbon removal. What levers are likely to convince corporates to include CDR in their strategies and act now?
• What elements of project design and implementation interest buyers most when putting together their CDR portfolios? What are the risks to look out for?
• Governments play a crucial and formative role in helping to fund, build, and scale the CDR industry. Both the US and Canadian governments actively buy credits. What can they do better to incentivize private companies to follow suit? And how can the federal government play a role in increasing the supply of high-quality removals while bringing down the cost of private-sector purchasing?

Nikki Batchelor - Executive Director, XPRIZE Carbon Removal

Adam Fraser - CEO, Terraset
Erik Hansen - Chief Sustainability Officer, Workday
Juliet Kirby - Founder & CEO, Gentoo.earth
Na’im Merchant - Co-Founder & Executive Director, Carbon Removal Canada
Nishad Pai - Head of Business Development, Heirloom

Kevin Niparko - Co-Founder, CDR.fyi

• Several fossil fuel companies are investing in start-ups and research initiatives focused on carbon removal technologies. What is the motivation for fossil fuel companies to enter the CDR market? 
• What can the CDR sector learn from extractive industry companies and are we tapping into their expertise enough?
• Have there been notable projects and initiatives between CDR developers and extractive corporations? What has been the key to success?
• Are governments doing enough to incentivise partnerships and/or sustainable transitions, and are efforts different in countries where extractive industry companies are state-owned?

Brenna Casey - Carbon Capture Analyst, BloombergNEF

Kate Murphy - CEO, Aquarry
Ryan Edwards - Director of Climate Policy, Oxy

Organisations invite attendees to participate in intimate discussions about critical challenges related to CDR development. The session culminates in the delegation sharing new ideas.

‍

1. Standardizing to Scale: How can we Develop Global CDR Benchmarks?

Russell Karas – SVP, Head of Commodities, Xpansiv

‍

2. Unlocking Funding for Electrochemistry-Based CDR: A Guide for Startups, Investors, & Research Funders

Silvan Aeschlimann - CDR Advisor, Third Derivative

Charithea Charalambous - Research & Diligence Senior Associate, Third Derivative

‍

3. CDR Co-Benefits: How Can We Maximise Positive Impact?

Fiona Perera - Manager, Methodology Development & Innovations – Gold Standard

‍

4. Empowering the Global South: Scaling Carbon Removal with Smallholder Farmers

Matt Rickard - COO, Biochar Life

Mona Singh, Global Head of Data Integrity & Technology, Biochar Life

‍

5. Understanding Quality & Risks in Nature-Based Carbon Removal

Ross Bernet - Carbon Removal Buyer & Senior Program Manager, Microsoft

Lizzie Aldrich - Vice President of Business Development, Anew 

Amrita Vatsal - Managing Director for Business Development, Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM)

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6. Energizing DAC: The Massive Opportunity for Clean Energy Providers

Patricia Loria - VP of Business Development, CarbonCapture 

‍

7. How can Governments (Federal, State, & Local) Help to Create a Robust CDR Market?‍

Elias Cain - CDR Funding Portfolio Manager, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Quinn Antus - Program Manager Emerging Market Carbon Management/CDR, Colorado Energy Office

‍

8. The Road to Credible CDR: Insights from Climate Vault's RFP Program

Brynn Esterly - Head of Carbon Removal Solutions, Climate Vault

‍

9. Removing Barriers: How Pioneering Buyers Can Unleash Scope 3 Solutions In The Built World

Jesse Hudecki - Head of Carbon Products & Partnerships, CarbonCure 

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10. Biochar Co-Benefits: Maximizing Revenue & Climate Mitigation by Developing End-Use Markets

Myles Gray - Executive Director, US Biochar Initiative

Jason Dodier - Co-Founder & CCO, Grain Ecosystem 

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11. Sourcing Carbon Credits for 2024 & 2025: Networking Between Buyers & Suppliers

Jason Grillo - Strategic Partnerships, AirMiners

Tito Jankowski - Co-Founder & CEO, AirMiners

‍

12. The Opportunity for Biomass-Based CDR in the American West: Pathways that Reduce Wildfire Risk & Store Carbon

Justin Freiberg -  Managing Director, Carbon Containment Lab

‍

13. Unlocking the Talent Landscape in Carbon Solutions

Tom Rochford - Director of Energy & Clean Technologies Americas, Acre

• Nature-based solutions (NBS) in agriculture are increasingly being adopted in California to address environmental challenges and enhance sustainability. Which solutions have been the most favourable and why? Do these practices differ from other agricultural states? 
• In the US, farmers are known to be fairly conservative in adopting new practices. How do project developers motivate farmers to change and improve practices? 
• Regenerative agriculture is critical to decarbonising the food sector, however, the responsibility for delivery is often with the farmers who face an increase in risk and costs.  How do carbon credits support farmers, and how much do subsidies impact regenerative agriculture?
• The potential for storing carbon in soil is greater than previously believed. ERW and biochar also promise to positively re-shape agriculture for farmers and storage capacity. What are the main opportunities and challenges for these approaches?

Matthew Potts - Chief Science Officer, Carbon Direct

Ikarus Janzen - CCO, Varaha
Maddie Hall - CEO, Living Carbon
Michael Sesko - Head of Strategic Finance, Eion
Tripp Wall - CEO, Pantheon Regeneration

Natalie Urban - Director of Origination & Partnerships, Symbiosis

Gather in the LIVE Carbon Removal Marketplace to discover how much has been donated! We’ll hear where the money has come from, where it’s going, and we'll push a final call for donations.

• What are the necessary frameworks for CDR to serve as a tool for climate and environmental justice, and how can environmental justice be incorporated in the early stages of CDR? 
• Indigenous peoples and local communities' wisdom, lived experiences, and essential priorities are indispensable in growing an industry. What are the most important benefits to communities and First Nation / indigenous people to consider in supporting the development of CDR projects in their area / on their land? And what are the first steps a developer needs to take when talking to locals about potential project development? 
• Economic, social, and environmental impacts are often mentioned in the same phrase as benefits. How does this work in practice, though? Is this the case, and how do we achieve all three at once?
• Where concerns over communal involvement, benefits, and respect for ancestral lands and their inhabitants are strong, CDR may not gain a local ‘social licence’ to operate. How can we turn negative experiences and scepticism into something positive? What have been success stories?

Chris Neidl - Co-Founder, OpenAir Collective

Francesca Hillery - Director of Programs & Partnerships, Global Ocean Health & Member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes (California)
Gillian Lui - Sustainability Manager, REI
Hendrik Tiesinga - Co-Founder, Tambora Carbon Removal

• What is the status of Silicon Valley's interest in carbon removal technology? How does it compare to appetite in other climate industries? 
• Where are the current funding gaps, and how has this changed since last year? 
• The “Valley” remains the powerhouse but what other regions are emerging as investor hubs?
• The "valley of debt" represents a critical period in a startup's lifecycle, marked by financial challenges, while achieving sustainable growth and profitability. How can investors assist in overcoming this period?
• How big is the current market for non-dilutive funding and how can these instruments assist start-ups, especially with FOAK projects?
• Once start-ups move from strategy to execution, billions of dollars are needed from large-scale investors to meet their expectations, and CDR companies’ risk profiles usually don’t match. How can we bridge the chasm?

Ryan Orbuch - Partner, Lowercarbon Capital

Meghan Edge, Head of Carbon Investments, Ripple
Mike Biddle - Partner, Evok Innovations
Susan Su - Partner, Toba Capital