Agriculture is becoming carbon-friendly with startups utilizing "rock dust."

• Agriculture, although a significant contributor to carbon emissions, could now be part of the solution as startups explore innovative methods of utilizing nature to mitigate its impact.
• Several startups, including Lithos, UNDO Carbon, and Eion, are conducting experiments with various types of rocks that can enhance soil for farming and permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere.
• This is a process known as enhanced rock weathering.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that agriculture is responsible for more than 10% of global carbon emissions. However, despite being a significant carbon contributor, agriculture could now be part of the solution as startups explore innovative ways to use nature to reduce its carbon footprint.

Lithos, UNDO Carbon, and California-based Eion are experimenting with carbon-absorbing rocks that can balance soil acidity, improve its structure, and increase nutrients available for crops while permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere through enhanced rock weathering.

Olivine is a volcanic rock that Eion grinds into dust.

"Eion CEO Anastasia Pavlovic stated that applying rock dust to farms can improve soil quality and help farmers manage carbon sequestration, permanently removing it from the atmosphere over time."

Olivine, like agricultural lime, enhances soil quality, but undergoes a chemical transformation during rainfall that permanently captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Pavlovic stated that by 2030, Eion will remove approximately 2 million cars worth of carbon from the atmosphere annually.

Norway provides Eion with olivine, increasing its cost, but through tax credits and carbon removal purchases, Eion subsidizes the expense for farmers, such as Dan Prevost, who runs Prevost Farms in Mississippi.

Prevost stated that he receives a discounted product on his farm at a 50% to 60% cost reduction compared to an equivalent product, which provides an immediate financial benefit and positively impacts his bottom line.

A total of $20 million has been raised by Elon from investors such as Exelon and Growmark.

Eion, currently operating primarily in Mississippi, plans to expand into Illinois and other regions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, with Pavlovic predicting that the company will generate "hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue over the next five years."

CNBC producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this piece.