Carbonsynk wins first runner-up prize at NTU’s Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize

Carbon-removal start-up Carbonsynk has secured the First Runner-Up position at the 3rd Kumar Sustainability & Innovation Prize (KSIP), to accelerate development of Southeast Asia’s first enhanced-rock-weathering (ERW) carbon-credit platform. The award was announced at the KSIP grand finale held on 26 March at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Entrepreneurship Academy.

Founded by researchers from NTU and the National University of Singapore (NUS), Carbonsynk is pioneering ERW projects that spread finely ground silicate rocks on agricultural land to capture atmospheric CO₂ while improving soil fertility. The company aims to deliver verifiable, high-quality carbon credits tailored to regional supply chains and smallholder farms across Southeast Asia.

The KSIP competition—established in 2023 through an endowment by philanthropist Hari Kumar—recognises early-stage ventures addressing global sustainability challenges. This year’s edition attracted more than 140 teams from Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and the United States; biotechnology firm FormaCyte Therapeutics claimed the top prize, with Carbonsynk and US-based DiTBOM finishing first and second runner-up respectively.

Field-deployment focus

Carbonsynk will use the S$25,000 grant to undertake site visits to ongoing ERW field trials, assess suitable mine tailings and quarry by-products as rock feedstocks, and deepen collaboration with agribusiness partners and local authorities. “This funding allows us to validate our life-cycle and techno-economic models on the ground and to refine rigorous monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) protocols for large-scale ERW,” said team lead Zhang Yiwen, a doctoral researcher at NTU’s Asian School of the Environment.

Programme roots and team composition

The venture emerged from the 2024 Singapore Climate Ventures (SGCV) programme, where its multidisciplinary founding team—Karen Taubenberger, Kin Ho Poon, Zhaofeng Ouyang, Zhengxin (Reno) He, Yixin Huang and principal investigator Professor Simon Redfern—refined the business model under guidance from industry mentors. The KSIP accolade marks Carbonsynk’s first cash award since graduating from SGCV, reinforcing confidence in the start-up’s path to market.