Waste Biomass, VC Investors, Public Parks: The Unusual Carbon Removal Playbook | Graphyte
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
The Climate CEOs Podcast with Dr. Chris Wedding
Scaling carbon removal through existing supply chains, community-aligned infrastructure, and signing up JPMorgan in the process.
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Barclay Rogers is the founder and CEO of Graphyte, focused on low-cost, permanent carbon removal using biomass burial.
Graphyte converts agricultural waste into dense carbon blocks and stores them underground, targeting sub-$100/ton durable carbon removal with high scalability.
They’re backed by leading climate investors such as Prelude Ventures, Carbon Direct Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Overture.
Here’s what we discussed:
Focus on execution, not recognition – Barclay said Graphyte does not chase awards; they focus on building a good business and “the scoreboard takes care of itself.” In his framing, recognition follows disciplined execution, not the other way around.
Use existing systems instead of reinventing everything – Graphyte’s model borrows from agriculture, timber, mining, and landfill engineering rather than trying to invent an entirely new stack from scratch. For CEOs, that is a reminder that practical innovation often comes from recombining proven systems.
Build where supply chains already exist – A key part of the company’s logic is plugging into waste biomass streams that already exist at scale, rather than creating a brand-new supply chain. That lowers cost, complexity, and time to scale.
Community alignment is a strategic advantage – Their approach of turning old quarries into parks or other public-benefit assets is not just goodwill; it helps create local support and makes projects easier to advance. CEOs should hear this as: stakeholder trust can be part of the operating model.
Your unique background can become a moat – Barclay’s mix of engineering and legal experience clearly shaped the company’s design, including permanence and land-use strategy. His point was that category-defining companies often come from founders combining multiple strengths, not just going deep in one lane.