Portfolio Spotlight: Syntopa — Supercharging Enhanced Weathering with Microbes

This series highlights the companies Carbon Drawdown Initiative has invested in.

Biohacking Climate Repair

What if a few liters of bacteria-laced water could double—or even quintuple—the speed at which rock dust pulls carbon from the atmosphere? It sounds a little sci-fi, yet that’s exactly what Syntopa is working on. 

By pairing carefully chosen microbes with enhanced weathering (EW), Syntopa is finding ways to make this natural carbon removal process faster and more flexible. Founders Hans Holtan and Graham Anderson are building biological tools that help soils (and the microbes in them) do the heavy lifting—breaking down rock dust more quickly to capture more CO₂, more efficiently.

Improving Enhanced Weathering with Bacteria

EW is a natural process that removes the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere while enriching the soil with essential nutrients. 

To make it work, finely ground rock dust is spread on agricultural land—a few tons per hectare. The rock reacts with water and CO₂ and removes the CO₂ from the atmosphere. Some rocks are more suitable than others, and you need to select the right type of rock for each field. Finely-ground sources of rock and some mineralogically pure rocks weather fastest, resulting in faster CO₂ removal and greater climate benefits. 

Syntopa’s plan is to improve the weathering rate of rock dust on croplands so that more rock types, including coarser grains and a diversity of mineral compositions, can be used effectively across more diverse soils. By adding bacteria, carefully selected to fit the region’s soil and the particular rock type, Syntopa will widen the range of rocks and locations that can rapidly remove CO₂. Additionally, more CO₂ removal faster creates a larger signal, making MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) easier. In the end, Syntopa’s product improves the whole carbon capture process of enhanced weathering.

If this works at scale, it could be a turning point for the enhanced weathering industry. More rocks. More land. Less cost. Most importantly, more carbon is pulled from the air. It’s a smart, biology-driven upgrade to a promising climate solution—and we’re excited to back Syntopa as they bring it to life.

The Syntopa Advantage

Syntopa’s approach is based on recent scientific advances. By utilizing a more effective form of EW, companies equipped with Syntopa’s product gain a strategic advantage in their efforts to improve carbon capture and scale impact. 

Studies by Beerling et al. (2018) and Kelland et al. (2020) have shown that microbial consortia can significantly enhance silicate mineral dissolution, accelerating CO₂ capture and nutrient release. Building on these findings, Syntopa integrates natural processes with advanced science, making EW a practical and impactful solution for climate-positive industries. Their products not only sequester CO₂ but also reduce reliance on fertilizers, fostering a symbiotic relationship with sustainable agricultural practices.

Their proprietary Toposight Platform uses a data-driven approach to match microbial strains with specific environmental conditions. In other words, they can create a specialized cocktail of microbes for specific regions of the world.

This precision ensures consistent performance, leading to measurable increases in rock weathering rates and carbon removal efficiency across various soil conditions. By tailoring the product to compatible conditions, Toposight ensures that Syntopa products perform consistently across fields and geographies.

Progress So Far

Founded in 2023, Syntopa has already grown rapidly. The team now includes four additional researchers, and a constellation of supporting advisors and consultants, working out of a state-of-the-art lab in Alameda, California. This lab is equipped with unique capabilities for isolating soil microbes and characterizing their rock weathering and carbon capture activities.

In less than a year of laboratory work, Syntopa has built a collection of over 1,200 rock-weathering soil microbes from soil samples spanning three continents. Using custom high-throughput strain analysis methods, they quantitatively characterize each microbe’s carbon capture potential to identify the most promising candidates for continued 2025 field trials.

To support these advancements, Syntopa has secured essential funding and partnerships that amplify the company’s research and capabilities. These collaborations allow for validation of their technology in real-world environments. Through advanced microbial screening, field testing, and predictive data analysis, Syntopa demonstrates the transformative potential of combining nature and science to address global challenges.

Looking Ahead

The future focus for the team at Syntopa Inc. is scaling their technology to benefit EW companies worldwide. The ultimate vision is to position EW and Syntopa’s microbe product as a critical tool to combat climate change—capturing carbon at scale while simultaneously fostering healthier soils and ecosystems.

Through increased field trials, a refined Toposight platform, and optimized microbial products, the team aims to increase efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and application diversity. Syntopa believes in a regenerative future where biological products contribute to scalable carbon capture and a more sustainable planet for generations to come.

For more information, visit: syntopa.com