Meine Erde

What Meine Erde does

Meine Erde (legal entity Circulum Vitae GmbH) is a Berlin-based private company that provides Reerdigung - a patented, scientifically validated form of human recomposition marketed in English as "terramation." The process uses a sealed, specially engineered vessel (the Kokon) under controlled temperature, moisture and oxygen conditions, supplemented with natural organic materials such as wood chips and plant matter, to transform human remains into nutrient-rich soil in approximately 40 days. The University of Leipzig has published a study confirming that the accelerated transformation to humus completes within that window, and the method is patented and registered.

The company sells a complete Reerdigung package priced from €4,250, primarily direct-to-consumer through its website and phone support, with optional advance planning (Reerdigungsvorsorge), a legal directive document (Reerdigungsverfügung) and a memory-tree add-on (Einfach Erde - Erinnerungsbaum). Distribution runs through two complementary channels: a network of Bestattungsinstitute (funeral homes, e.g., Hopster in Rheine) and Friedhöfe (cemeteries, e.g., Parkfriedhof Eichhof in Kiel, the Ev.-Luth. Kirchengemeinde Mölln, and Green-Wood Cemetery in New York), with Reerdigung carried out on cemetery grounds and the resulting soil used on-site for landscaping, conservation and memory trees.

After a pilot phase in Schleswig-Holstein beginning February 2022 with the first Reerdigung in Europe at Mölln, the state permanently legalized Reerdigung as a third burial method alongside earth burial and cremation in June 2026 - the first such approval in Germany since the 19th century. Funding to date includes a 2021 round (BLN Capital, Project A Ventures) and a November 2024 seed extension led by IBB Ventures and HGDF, with additional participants 2HR, byFounders, Saarbruecker 21 and TS Ventures; a September 2025 IBB ProFIT research grant supports infrastructure development. The founding shareholders also established the non-profit Stiftung Reerdigung in May 2023, and the company is led by co-CEOs Pablo Metz and Max Hüsch.

Name

Meine Erde

Legal name

Circulum Vitae GmbH

Website

https://meine-erde.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Meine Erde (Circulum Vitae GmbH) is a Berlin-based company offering Reerdigung, a patented recomposition service that transforms human remains into nutrient-rich soil in about 40 days, sold direct-to-consumer and via funeral-home and cemetery partners in Germany and, as of 2026, New York.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Reerdigung Services: One-time service fee for Reerdigung (recomposition) complete package. Customers pay for the full service including the cocoon process, transformation, and resulting soil. The soil can be used on cemetery grounds for landscaping and conservation efforts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Meine Erde provides Reerdigung (human recomposition/terramation) — an ecological burial service that transforms human remains into nutrient-rich soil in approximately 40 days using a patented sealed Kokon (cocoon) vessel. The complete package starts at €4,250 and includes use of the Kokon, the controlled decomposition process, and the resulting soil, which can be used for cemetery landscaping or to plant memory trees. Additional offerings include pre-planning (Reerdigungsvorsorge), memory tree programs (Einfach Erde – Erinnerungsbaum), and a formal disposition document (Reerdigungsverfügung).

Product overview

MEINE ERDE (Circulum Vitae GmbH) offers Reerdigung, an ecological burial method that transforms human remains into nutrient-rich soil in approximately 40 days using patented Kokon technology. The core offering is the complete Reerdigung service package starting at 4,250 EUR, which includes the use of their specially engineered vessel, controlled decomposition process, and the resulting soil. Add-on services include advance planning options (Reerdigungsvorsorge), legal documentation (Reerdigungsverfugung), and memorial offerings such as the Erinnerungsbaum (memory tree) planted in the resulting soil. The company operates primarily in Germany with partnerships at cemetery locations and has expanded to include an international partnership with Green-Wood Cemetery in New York.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Reerdigung (Human Recomposition Service) A complete-package ecological burial service that transforms a deceased person's remains into nutrient-rich soil within approximately 40 days using a sealed, specially engineered vessel (Kokon) with controlled temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels, supplemented by natural organic materials such as wood chips and plant matter. The package starts at €4,250 and is offered directly to consumers and bereaved families in Germany and via Green-Wood Cemetery in New York.
• Reerdigungsvorsorge (Advance Planning) An advance-planning service that allows individuals to formally pre-arrange their own Reerdigung, secures current pricing, and helps establish Reerdigung as a recognized burial method before the need arises.
• Einfach Erde – Erinnerungsbaum (Memory Tree) A memorial offering that plants a tree in soil produced through the Reerdigung process at partner cemeteries, creating a living, growing place of remembrance for families.
• Reerdigungsverfügung (Disposition Document) A formal document that allows individuals to legally record their wish for Reerdigung to be carried out after their death, complementing the pre-planning service.

Quantifiable outcome

• Transformation to nutrient-rich soil completed in approximately 40 days (confirmed by University of Leipzig study)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Green-Wood Cemetery, New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2026Partnership with historic Green-Wood Cemetery in New York to offer Reerdigung ('terramation') services. Green-Wood plans to use the resulting nutrient-rich soil on cemetery grounds to support landscaping and conservation efforts. This represents MEINE ERDE's first expansion into the US market.
• Parkfriedhof Eichhof, KielcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Parkfriedhof Eichhof in Kiel to offer Reerdigung services. A 'Lebenswiese' (life meadow) has been established where 'Erinnerungsbäume' (memory trees) can be planted. The partnership was announced for May 2023 and expanded with a memory tree program in February 2026.
• Ev.-Luth. Kirchenkreis AltholsteincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Protestant Lutheran church district (Kirchenkreis) to offer Reerdigung at cemeteries in Schleswig-Holstein, including the first Reerdigung in Europe at Mölln in February 2022. The church views Reerdigung as aligning with Christian understanding of eternal life.
• University of LeipzigcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Leipzig conducted and published the first European scientific study on Reerdigung, confirming that the accelerated transformation of a deceased person to humus is completed within 40 days. This validation supports MEINE ERDE's technology claims.
• Stiftung ReerdigungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit foundation (Stiftung Reerdigung) founded by the shareholders of Circulum Vitae GmbH to support education and research in sustainable burial practices. Managed by Jörg Litwinschuh-Barthel.
• Bestattungsinstitute (Funeral Homes)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of funeral homes across Germany that partner with MEINE ERDE to offer Reerdigung services. Partners include Hopster Bestattungsinstitut in Rheine and others. Funeral homes provide client relationships while MEINE ERDE provides technology.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Recompose: Seattle-based pioneer of human composting (also called 'natural organic reduction') using a similar vessel-based process. The closest direct competitor and most credible global reference point for Meine Erde's technology and operating model, currently active in multiple US states that have legalized the practice.
• Return Home: Australian/US-based human composting provider using a similar accelerated organic transformation process. Operates facilities in multiple US states and represents direct competition in the same product category with overlapping target customers.

Emerging players

• Better Place Forests: US company offering memorial ash-scattering in protected forests with a dedicated tree per remains. Compares to Meine Erde's Erinnerungsbaum (memory tree) concept as an eco-conscious, nature-based memorial alternative for consumers seeking non-traditional end-of-life options.
• Bio-Response Solutions: Provider of alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation) equipment and services to funeral homes. Adjacent eco-burial technology that competes for the same end-of-life consumer demand as Meine Erde's Reerdigung, particularly in US states where both methods are legal.
• Promessa: Swedish company that pioneered the concept of human composting ('promession') in the late 1990s. Historically relevant as the intellectual predecessor to Meine Erde's category and a cautionary case study on commercialization challenges in this space.
• Eterneva: US-based company that transforms cremated ashes into memorial diamonds. Targets the same eco- and meaning-driven end-of-life consumer segment as Meine Erde, though via a different mechanism (diamond vs. soil).

Broad incumbents

• Dignity PLC: UK-listed funeral services operator with multi-brand portfolio across the UK. Relevant as a potential channel partner or acquirer for scaling Meine Erde's technology across the UK market, where funeral regulation is more centralized than in Germany.
• Green Burial Council: US-based non-profit industry body that certifies and promotes natural/green burial providers. Relevant as an ecosystem shaper and certification authority that could legitimize or constrain Meine Erde's positioning as it expands into English-speaking markets.
• Service Corporation International: Largest North American funeral services and cemetery operator (NYSE: SCI). Potentially relevant as a strategic acquirer or partner interested in adding eco-burial services to its portfolio, representing the established-incumbent dimension of the death-care category.

Regional players

• FriedWald: German market leader in forest burials (Burial in designated forest areas with a tree as a grave marker). Closest established German competitor in the eco-end-of-life segment, with broad consumer awareness and existing cemetery partnerships that could either compete with or distribute for Meine Erde.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Meine_Erde
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@MEINE-ERDE
• Facebookfacebook.com/MeineErdeOfficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meine-erde
• Instagraminstagram.com/meine_erde_official
• Pinterestpinterest.de/meine_erde
• TikToktiktok.com/@reerdigung?lang=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Meine Erde