Cascade Climate has launched a call for Expressions of Interest, looking for institutions that would like to take part in a new coordinated research network (CRN) for enhanced rock weathering (ERW).
By answering this call, institutions can show their interest in hosting and managing globally coordinated ERW research sites, helping advance the science on the potential carbon dioxide removal (CDR) impact and beneficial agricultural effect of this technology.
The vision behind the call is to establish a network of up to 15 standardized ERW sites, beginning with one or two pilot sites that will be launched in 2026 with philanthropic funding secured for the next five years.
Under the coordinated research network, the sites will serve as standardized experimental ERW field trials deployed across diverse global geographies.
All of the selected sites will employ standardized protocols, measurement strategies, and experimental designs, feeding the enhanced rock weathering CRN with field-wide insights gained through datasets comparable across global contexts.
By choosing to host and operate a site, institutions will access operational funding as well as authorship opportunities for site-specific and network-wide publications, along with a chance to connect and network with a global community of ERW researchers.
Enhanced rock weathering represents the spreading of alkaline crushed rock material on agricultural soils, where it catalyzes the removal of atmospheric CO2 emissions while also improving the quality of the soil.
While this technology holds great scaling potential, it also needs broader, science-backed performance evidence, which requires further research into aspects like its CDR impact in different climates and soil environments and the timescale it can be delivered on.
Relevant: Terradot, Backed By Microsoft, Is Validating ERW At New Sentinel Site In Brazil
The coordinated ERW research network will work on providing answers on topics like this one, while also covering other important segments, such as establishing the agricultural benefits from ERW, how the weathering products behave in deeper soils, what the most reliable measurement strategies are, and other pending questions on this decarbonization approach.
Institutions interested in this call can submit their applications by Mar 10, 2026, and the full list of participation criteria, as well as the application form, can be accessed here.
Read more: Puro.earth Starts Public Consultation On Its Updated ERW Methodology
