Dirk Paessler
@dpaessler.bsky.social
Our mission is to speed up negative emissions
CEO Carbon Drawdown Initiative https://www.carbon-drawdown.de
VP Negative Emissions Platform https://negative-emissions.org/
CEO Carbon Drawdown Initiative https://www.carbon-drawdown.de
VP Negative Emissions Platform https://negative-emissions.org/
Read more background in our blog post www.carbon-drawdown.de/blog/2023-10...
Turn it to *11*! The greenhouse tactics that accelerate our ERW research — Carbon Drawdown Initiative
While we are preparing a first look at the weathering data we have also looked at how the ambient climate in the greenhouse has developed since January. Here is an overview of this data.
www.carbon-drawdown.de
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Read more background in our blog post www.carbon-drawdown.de/blog/2023-10...
In short: the greenhouse is our laboratory amplifier. It allows us to see what would otherwise be invisible and helps us make sense of enhanced weathering’s potential.
November 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
In short: the greenhouse is our laboratory amplifier. It allows us to see what would otherwise be invisible and helps us make sense of enhanced weathering’s potential.
The goal is 𝘯𝘰𝘵 to perfectly mimic nature. It’s to “turn the dial up to 11” and create a strong, measurable signal. If we can first detect and quantify CDR under controlled conditions, we can then test and refine MRV methods before bringing them back to the noisy complexity of real fields.
November 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
The goal is 𝘯𝘰𝘵 to perfectly mimic nature. It’s to “turn the dial up to 11” and create a strong, measurable signal. If we can first detect and quantify CDR under controlled conditions, we can then test and refine MRV methods before bringing them back to the noisy complexity of real fields.
1. Keep conditions continuously warm and moist to accelerate weathering.
2. Maintain plant growth year-round.
3. Use homogenized soils and replicates for better comparability.
4. Apply clearly defined amounts of rock dust.
5. Track everything with hundreds of sensors.
2. Maintain plant growth year-round.
3. Use homogenized soils and replicates for better comparability.
4. Apply clearly defined amounts of rock dust.
5. Track everything with hundreds of sensors.
November 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
1. Keep conditions continuously warm and moist to accelerate weathering.
2. Maintain plant growth year-round.
3. Use homogenized soils and replicates for better comparability.
4. Apply clearly defined amounts of rock dust.
5. Track everything with hundreds of sensors.
2. Maintain plant growth year-round.
3. Use homogenized soils and replicates for better comparability.
4. Apply clearly defined amounts of rock dust.
5. Track everything with hundreds of sensors.
That’s why we moved most of our projects into our greenhouse in early 2023. Here, we can:
November 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
That’s why we moved most of our projects into our greenhouse in early 2023. Here, we can:
The result is that the signal we want to detect (i.e. additional CO₂ removal from weathering) is often too small, too slow, or too hidden in the noise to be measured with confidence. Without clarity, we can’t build reliable monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems.
November 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
The result is that the signal we want to detect (i.e. additional CO₂ removal from weathering) is often too small, too slow, or too hidden in the noise to be measured with confidence. Without clarity, we can’t build reliable monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems.
Field sites are full of “disturbing effects”: highly variable soils, changing weather, crop management differences, and countless other noise sources.
November 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Field sites are full of “disturbing effects”: highly variable soils, changing weather, crop management differences, and countless other noise sources.
The article that inspired me: www.linkedin.com/pulse/excell...
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The article that inspired me: www.linkedin.com/pulse/excell...
We need a culture where failed attempts are data, not embarrassment, where “doesn’t work” is also progress.
The planet is our shared lab, and hiding bad news slows us all down.
The planet is our shared lab, and hiding bad news slows us all down.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
We need a culture where failed attempts are data, not embarrassment, where “doesn’t work” is also progress.
The planet is our shared lab, and hiding bad news slows us all down.
The planet is our shared lab, and hiding bad news slows us all down.
We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on enhanced weathering experiments that didn’t remove carbon. These “failures” taught us what not to repeat and helped us get better faster.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on enhanced weathering experiments that didn’t remove carbon. These “failures” taught us what not to repeat and helped us get better faster.
I understand both fears, but silence is expensive. If a climate solution doesn’t work, we need to find out as early as possible so we can redirect our effort and energy to other things and let go.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I understand both fears, but silence is expensive. If a climate solution doesn’t work, we need to find out as early as possible so we can redirect our effort and energy to other things and let go.
In the climate space, there is still hesitation everywhere. Scientists worry they could lose academic merit and startups worry they make their next financing round more complicated.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
In the climate space, there is still hesitation everywhere. Scientists worry they could lose academic merit and startups worry they make their next financing round more complicated.
At Carbon Drawdown Initiative, whenever we publish a result that didn’t work or worked far less than expected, we see the same thing in the comments. People thank us for our transparency. We shouldn’t be alone with this.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
At Carbon Drawdown Initiative, whenever we publish a result that didn’t work or worked far less than expected, we see the same thing in the comments. People thank us for our transparency. We shouldn’t be alone with this.
That line stuck with me. If you never hear bad news, it means people are hiding problems instead of surfacing them.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
That line stuck with me. If you never hear bad news, it means people are hiding problems instead of surfacing them.
Wir haben das Ding erst Ende November 2020 programmiert 😉
November 4, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Wir haben das Ding erst Ende November 2020 programmiert 😉
Today, I watch our portfolio companies navigate these same transitions. The patterns are universal and the growing pains are real, but if you know they're coming, you can prepare for them.
What stage is your company in right now?
What stage is your company in right now?
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Today, I watch our portfolio companies navigate these same transitions. The patterns are universal and the growing pains are real, but if you know they're coming, you can prepare for them.
What stage is your company in right now?
What stage is your company in right now?
After two decades of continuous adaptation at Paessler, I had to quit in 2017. There were too many people around me and I was not able to add value to the company anymore. I couldn't adapt anymore.
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
After two decades of continuous adaptation at Paessler, I had to quit in 2017. There were too many people around me and I was not able to add value to the company anymore. I couldn't adapt anymore.
We became a better company, and we were able to work together better, even with more people. Ultimately, customers always felt that, and that is what matters.
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
We became a better company, and we were able to work together better, even with more people. Ultimately, customers always felt that, and that is what matters.
They have to endure all this without getting adequate support from company management, for whom this is usually unchartered territory also.
We got better at managing these changes over the years. Even if growing was not always easy, I see all these steps as positive in retrospect.
We got better at managing these changes over the years. Even if growing was not always easy, I see all these steps as positive in retrospect.
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
They have to endure all this without getting adequate support from company management, for whom this is usually unchartered territory also.
We got better at managing these changes over the years. Even if growing was not always easy, I see all these steps as positive in retrospect.
We got better at managing these changes over the years. Even if growing was not always easy, I see all these steps as positive in retrospect.
Each transition is a strain on the employees. The old, trained behaviors only make everything worse. Everyone has to change, and these changes mean stress for most people. They neither initiated the change, nor wanted it.
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Each transition is a strain on the employees. The old, trained behaviors only make everything worse. Everyone has to change, and these changes mean stress for most people. They neither initiated the change, nor wanted it.
Before the move "up," everything feels increasingly tough in everyday working life. After the move "up," everything suddenly changes. Then you restructure and ask yourself how it all could have actually worked before.
November 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Before the move "up," everything feels increasingly tough in everyday working life. After the move "up," everything suddenly changes. Then you restructure and ask yourself how it all could have actually worked before.