MUSCAT: Project Hajar — a collaboration between UK-based Mission Zero Technologies (MZT) and Oman-based 44.01 – was recognised among the top 15 $1M Milestone Prize winners revealed for the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition.

Considered to be the largest incentive prize in history is valued at $100M funded by entrepreneur Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation.

Project Hajar connects two complementary technologies to unlock gigatons of CO2 removal in the Al Hajar mountains of the Sultanate of Oman. The project, to be fully powered by renewables, combines MZT’s proprietary electrochemical direct air capture (DAC) technology with 44.01’s permanent sequestration capabilities via mineralisation in peridotite formations. CO2 will be energy-efficiently collected from the air and then transferred to peridotite underground – a mineral widely studied for its CO2 mineralisation potential and naturally abundant in Oman’s geology. Here, the natural weathering process is enhanced by the fastest mineral carbonation rates ever demonstrated in the field to deliver verifiable and permanent carbon removal.

“In the wake of the IPCC’s latest assertion that carbon removal is now necessary to achieve our global climate goals, we are thrilled that Project Hajar has been identified by the XPRIZE as a solution with the potential to scale and make meaningful impact,” said Karan Khimji, cofounder and CCO of 44.01. “The prize money will enable us to execute our vision for Project Hajar. The hard work starts now.”

Over 1,100 teams from around the world were registered for the competition and nearly 300 eligible projects were submitted for the Milestone Prizes earlier this year.