42. The Future of Carbon Removal: Is the hype gone? Discussion with co-founder of Non-Profit accelerator remove - Marian Krüger

In the latest episode of Sustain Now, we interview Marian Krüger, co-founder of the non-profit accelerator Remove, to tackle one of the most pressing questions in climate tech today: Is the carbon removal hype fading? And if so, why?

Marian, who brings a unique background combining entrepreneurial ventures, techno beats, and carbon innovation, doesn’t shy away from difficult truths. He offers a critical, but ultimately hopeful, perspective on the challenges and future of carbon removal (CDR).

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With a background in behavioral economics and a career spanning venture building,

clean tech, and sustainability consulting at ETH Zurich, Marian brings a deep understanding of both climate impact and entrepreneurship. His work focuses on building the ecosystem necessary for carbon dioxide removal to scale to gigaton levels by 2050. Passionate about systems change, Marian believes that solving climate challenges requires not just innovation, but durable and verifiable solutions beyond carbon credits.

What is Carbon Removal Anyway?

At its core, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) means taking CO₂ out of the atmosphere and storing it securely so it doesn’t return for a long time. Unlike emissions reductions (cutting new CO₂ emissions), CDR deals with existing atmospheric CO₂ — which is crucial if we want to hit net-zero targets.

There are several methods:

• Nature-based solutions like reforestation and regenerative agriculture, which absorb carbon naturally.

• Technological solutions like direct air capture (DAC), where machines pull CO₂ from the air.

• Hybrid solutions such as enhanced weathering, where rocks are crushed and spread to accelerate natural carbon absorption.

  
  

As Marian points out, “There’s no silver bullet. We’ll need a whole portfolio of solutions to meet the staggering demand: up to 10 gigatons per year by 2050.”

Who Are the Major Players?

You might have heard of Climeworks, the Swiss pioneer in direct air capture, but they’re not alone. Other major companies include:

• Carbon Engineering (Canada): Also working on large-scale DAC plants.

• Charm Industrial (USA): Focuses on bio-oil sequestration (converting biomass into a stable form and injecting it underground).

• Heirloom (USA): Uses limestone to pull carbon from the air in a low-energy process.

• Running Tide (USA): Sinks carbon-rich biomass (like kelp) into the deep ocean.

  
  

Each uses a different method, from high-tech fans to enhanced nature-based systems.

Is the Hype Cooling Off?

Marian says it plainly: yes, the carbon removal hype has cooled — but that’s not necessarily bad. It’s a maturing process.

In 2021–2022, carbon removal startups enjoyed a surge of optimism, driven by massive climate pledges and generous voluntary markets. But today, the industry is grappling with harder questions:

• Who will pay? CDR is still expensive and optional for most companies.

• Where's the demand? Especially in the Global South, where the potential for carbon removal is huge, but the financial demand is tiny.

• Policy uncertainty: No consistent regulatory frameworks yet force companies to purchase removals.

  
  

“The market has shifted,” Marian explains. “Startups are now being pushed to create real, profitable, revenue-generating models — not just rely on selling carbon credits.”

Why Carbon Credits Are "Bad Math"

Carbon removal is often associated with Carbon Credits. The promise of continuing activities that are polluting yet very profitable attracted many players to the carbon removal sector. Yet, Marian is particularly critical of the way carbon credits have been used in voluntary markets. As he puts it:

This misalignment of incentives has led to widespread over-claiming and, ultimately, disillusionment with many carbon offset projects. True carbon removal, he argues, must be verifiable, durable, and additional — not just accounting tricks.

What’s Next?

Despite the headwinds, Marian remains optimistic. He believes real progress will come when:

• Governments integrate carbon removal into compliance markets (especially the EU ETS).

• Funding shifts from hype-driven rounds to supporting sustainable, diverse business models.

• A new generation of startups survives today's "trough of disillusionment" and thrives when the real market opens.

  
  

Remove, the non-profit accelerator Marian co-founded, is doubling down on supporting early-stage CDR startups in Europe, India, and Africa. They're focusing on sustainable revenue, not just speculative carbon credits.

If you are Interested in joining the next generation of carbon removal innovators? Learn more about remove’s programs at remove.global or contact Marian through LinkedIn

Memorable quotes from the episode by Berk:

“Right now, carbon removal is not a painkiller. It’s a vitamin. Nice to have — but not critical. And that’s a problem.”

“We’re building a trillion-dollar industry from scratch — with no natural customer, uncertain policy, and massive infrastructure needs.”

“The fact that you're listening means you've been infected by the climate bug. And there's no unseeing it. We need you — all of you — in this fight.”

In this episode we address the following questions:

00:26,"Are you actually from Berlin?"

00:40," Could you bring any inspiration from electronic music to your business right now?"

03:20,When did you start playing Basketball?

04:01,"Do you remember a point then, maybe in teenage or whenever a year, when you decided to stop that and dedicate more time, also dedicated in your studying that time?"

05:47,What made you fall in love then into climate in the first job?

07:11,"Did that make you found the next company, the drone-based photovoltaic diagnostic company?"

10:02,What have you learned from that exit?

11:25,"And let's now, like, what was that?"

11:38,What made you then going into CDI afterwards?

14:25,"Amazing. Before we dive into actually what you're doing, maybe to take a step back and think about, can you explain what CDR really encompass?"

20:04,"But if we think about the next, as you said, like 30 years, which we have till 2050 where we want to all be net zero. If we need to place bets, like let's say you want to place two bets. Where would you place the bet on?"

20:33,What would be your two bets in carbon room?

22:44,"Let's touch both. First, the South focus and then it would be great to talk a little bit more about the voluntary market. That would be super interesting as well. Focusing on the South, the question is carbon removal technologies. And I think you raised that actually to me in the call we had before. And I thought it was such an interesting question. Who is actually a customer of carbon removal and who is going to pay for it?"

28:48,"How do you see right now, you know, thinking about a macro political changes right now with the Trump administration, actually the EU came out and released some of the ESG reporting to make it not so complex, which I think is a good thing that bureaucracy is getting actually down, but is it the right way of doing it?"

32:10,"Are you shifting your focus now more on the actual, you know, how to create more sustainable, more revenue based models in CDR in your accelerator?"

33:33,"That actually went quite down, right?"

34:33,So do you see for the next five years solutions which you think they're gonna have more success?

36:17,"Okay, is that the reason why you turned, that's why remove is actually a non-profit because you know you're not heavily relying on the equity story?"

38:18,How difficult is it to get financing for such a structure?

20,39:37,Do you need fundraisers every year?

40:23, How is the non-profit world working for you?

42:28,"Okay, interesting. So how does your accelerator program work if you are in the, you know, if you have a startup and you want to do something?"

45:08,Can you share a funny or inspiring story out of these coaching sessions?

46:27,"Hmm When you're looking back since you built remove when you said it's already has been some changes in that. Do you see any like Setback, what do you experience which you learned a lot about?"

47:26,Any tips if someone else wants to work in the impact sector?

49:19,"currently what kind of investments we actually need in infrastructure and the whole structure, which is crazy if you think about it. And this is like, you know, it's not like hundred years. It's quite close. So do you see any turning point?"

51:13, it fits actually well to your book, Race to Zero. If you think about it now, is there anything you would change in it?"

53:12,You still need a lot of conviction to actually go there. really like that. Is conviction and hope what you give to your younger self?

56:04,"How can people reach out to you if you want to know more about Remove or maybe even apply or maybe even donate?"