Tesla CEO Offers $100 Million Prize for Way to Remove CO2 from Atmosphere & Ocean

Tesla CEO - Elon Musk offered inventors $100 million in prize money to develop ways to fight global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or ocean. "Right now we've only got one planet. Even a 0.1% chance of disaster - why run that risk? That's crazy!“, Musk commented.

In January, Elon Musk has announced his intention to offer $100 million in prizes and set out the contest rules this Thursday (Earth Day). The prize will last for four years - through Earth Day 2025, and is aimed at finding a viable solution for taking 1,000 tonnes out of the atmosphere annually, with potential for scale-up.

Carbon capture projects have already got backing from Silicon Valley startups, as public officials grow increasingly concerned with the slow pace of emission cutting, while emitters themselves strive to find ways to offset their climate impacts.

The issue is, the technology is hardly commercially viable just yet. Removing carbon can cost over $300 per metric tonne in a world that each year emits around 50 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. 

"I think this is one of those things that is going to take a while to figure out what the right solution is. And especially to figure out what the best economics are for CO2 removal”, the electric automaker’s leader commented.

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