ClimEtSan-OnTheGround

What ClimEtSan-OnTheGround does

ClimEtSan-OnTheGround GmbH is a privately held, impact-oriented climate company founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Forschungszentrum Jülich by agricultural engineer Dr. Katharina Prost. Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, the company develops and implements integrated circular-economy climate projects in the Global South, with Ethiopia as its first partner country. Its core offering is a closed-loop system combining three product lines: NOAH micro-gasifier cookstoves (developed with PRO LEHM, using pyrolysis to reduce wood consumption by 60% and produce biochar as a by-product), ecological dry toilets (using sawdust instead of water for flush, with waste collected for downstream processing), and biochar-compost organic fertilizer produced through thermophilic composting at temperatures up to 75°C. The company implements projects directly through subsidiaries and local partnerships, building rural stove workshops, sanitation infrastructure, and composting plants, and reportedly reinvests profits into partner countries.

The business operates on three revenue streams: the sale of CO2 certificates generated by the projects to corporate buyers via offsetting/insetting mechanisms, recurring rental income from public and private dry toilets, and transaction-based sales of biochar-compost fertilizer to smallholder farmers. The customer base is hybrid — primarily smallholder farmers and underserved households in the Global South as end beneficiaries, and corporate carbon credit buyers as the B2B funding layer. The company has won multiple sustainability-focused awards (ISC3 Innovation Challenge honorable mention 2023, Start-Up of the Month December 2023, Zebra Accelerator alumni, Airminers CDR Accelerator alumni, ISC3 2025 finalist) and markets through content, organic social, and event participation. No revenue, funding, or headcount figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

ClimEtSan-OnTheGround

Legal name

ClimEtSan-OnTheGround GmbH

Website

https://climetsan-ontheground.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ClimEtSan-OnTheGround is a German impact company that develops integrated circular-economy climate projects in the Global South — combining biochar-producing cookstoves, ecological dry sanitation, and biochar-compost fertilizer for smallholder farmers, co-financed via corporate carbon credit sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Protection & Circular Economy Services

NAICS

Compost Manufacturing (325315), Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Biochar Carbon Projects (Biomass to Biochar & Soil Application) (EUABABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (EUABABAE), Soil Carbon & Regenerative Agriculture Removal (Soil Organic Carbon Credits) (EUABAFAG), Digestate & Compost Product Processing, Marketing & Distribution (Soil Amendments, Mulch) (EUAIAEAE), Climate-Smart Farming & GHG Reduction (Emissions Accounting, Methane/N2O Reduction Practices) (AFAGAMAH)

Keywords

• Circular economy solutions
• Biochar fertilizer production
• Ecological sanitation systems
• Clean cooking stoves
• Regenerative agriculture

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. CO2 Certificates Sales: Sale of CO2 certificates enables co-financing of the holistic climate protection approach. Companies use insetting and offsetting mechanisms to fund the projects.
2. Rental Toilet System: Ecological sanitation system based on rental and public toilets in partner countries.
3. Biochar-Compost Fertilizer Sales: Production and sale of nutrient-rich biochar-compost fertilizer for regenerative agriculture in smallholder farming.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ClimEtSan-OnTheGround develops, plans, and implements integrated circular-economy climate protection projects in the Global South (starting with Ethiopia) that combine three elements: smokeless biochar-producing NOAH pyrolysis cookstoves, waterless ecological dry sanitation with sawdust-flush toilets, and thermophilic composting that turns sanitation waste plus biochar into organic fertilizer for regenerative smallholder agriculture. Revenue is primarily co-financed through sale of CO2 certificates to corporate offset/inset buyers, with additional income from biochar-compost fertilizer sales, rental toilet fees, and scientific consulting.

Product overview

ClimEtSan-OnTheGround is an impact-oriented company that develops and implements integrated circular-economy climate projects in the Global South. The company offers a holistic system combining three core products: NOAH Pyrolyse-Kochöfen (smokeless biochar-producing cookstoves), Ökologische Sanitärversorgung (ecological dry sanitation with sawdust-flush toilets), and Pflanzenkohle-Kompost-Düngemittel (biochar-compost fertilizer produced through thermophilic composting). These components are integrated into a closed-loop system where cookstoves produce biochar, sanitation waste is combined with biochar and organic matter for composting, and the resulting fertilizer supports regenerative smallholder agriculture. The company also provides climate project management services and scientific consulting. CO2 certificate sales enable co-financing of this holistic approach. ClimEtSan-OnTheGround was founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Forschungszentrum Jülich, with Ethiopia as its first partner country.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NOAH Pyrolyse-Kochöfen (NOAH Micro-Gasifier Cookstoves) Smokeless pyrolysis cookstoves developed in cooperation with PRO LEHM that consume 60% less wood than traditional cooking methods and produce biochar as a by-product. Produced in rural workshops and distributed to households in partner countries such as Ethiopia.
• Ökologische Sanitärversorgung (Ecological Dry Sanitation) Public and private dry toilets using sawdust instead of water for flushing, with collected waste processed by the company into biochar-based fertilizers. Deployed as rental and public toilet systems in partner countries.
• Pflanzenkohle-Kompost-Düngemittel (Biochar-Comp Fertilizer) Organic fertilizer produced through thermophilic composting of biochar combined with ecological sanitation waste and organic biomass, heated to 75°C to kill pathogens. Sold to smallholder farmers for regenerative agriculture.
• Klimaschutzprojekt-Management (Climate Project Management) End-to-end planning, development, and implementation of sustainable climate protection projects in the Global South, combining clean cookstoves, ecological sanitation, and biochar-fertilizer production. Co-financed through sale of CO2 certificates to corporate buyers.
• Regenerative Landwirtschaft (Regenerative Agriculture Support) Provision of safe, nutrient-rich biochar-compost fertilizer and associated support to smallholder farmers to increase soil fertility and water storage capacity, enabling stable yields and food security.
• Wissenschaftliche Beratung (Scientific Consulting) Consulting services for planning and execution of (scientific) projects related to sustainable agriculture, circular economy, and biochar technology, leveraging the team's research background at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% reduction in wood consumption compared to traditional cooking
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, foundational and supporting.

• PRO LEHMcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022PRO LEHM is a German clay technology company and the developer of the NOAH micro-gasifier cookstove. They work together to build stove workshops in rural areas where young people are trained in stove production. PRO LEHM provides the patented cookstove technology while ClimEtSan implements the distribution and collection systems for biochar.
• Forschungszentrum JülichfoundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022ClimEtSan-OnTheGround spun off from Forschungszentrum Jülich (German Research Center) in 2022 through the initiative of Dr. Katharina Prost. The company is based on outcomes of the ClimEtSan research project (2017-2021) that explored ecological sanitation and micro-gasifier cookstoves in Ethiopia.
• ISC3 (International Sustainable Carbon Cycle)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerISC3 selected ClimEtSan-OnTheGround for ISC3 Start-Up of the Month December 2023 and recognized them with the honorable mention as best female founder at Innovation Challenge 2023. The company reached the finals of Innovation Challenge 2025.
• Zebra AcceleratorsupportingOthersGerman accelerator program that ClimEtSan-OnTheGround completed as alumni in December 2023. The program provides support and mentorship for sustainable startups.
• AirminerssupportingOthersCarbon Dioxide Removal Accelerator program that ClimEtSan-OnTheGround completed as alumni in July 2024. Focuses on supporting startups in the carbon removal space.
• SYMBIOSE EINSsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunication agency specialized in supporting sustainable businesses. Sabine Lydia Müller, founder and owner, also works as marketing advisor for ClimEtSan and is simultaneously active as consultant for regenerative agriculture and organic certification in Mozambique/Africa since 2016.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BURN Manufacturing: Kenya-based clean cookstove manufacturer with carbon credit revenue stream and East African distribution. Directly comparable in cookstove distribution model and African consumer base, though their output is mainly improved biomass stoves rather than biochar-producing pyrolysis stoves.
• Charm Industrial: US-based carbon removal company using biomass-to-biochar processes for durable CO2 removal. Comparable on biochar-based carbon removal unit economics and credit sale model, though at much larger scale and with different technology pathway.
• Carbofex: Finnish biochar producer and carbon removal project developer selling CO2 removal credits. Closely comparable on the biochar production and carbon credit issuance side, though operating in Europe rather than the Global South.
• C-Quest Capital: Carbon project developer generating credits from clean cookstoves, biochar, and other climate-smart agriculture interventions in Africa and Asia. Directly comparable as a cookstove-led carbon credit project developer operating in similar geographies.
• Sistema.bio: Mexico-origin/Kenya-operating biogas and biofertilizer company serving smallholder farmers in the Global South. Closely comparable in circular economy model turning waste into bio-inputs for smallholder agriculture, with similar GTM and revenue from carbon credits.
• Carbon Gold: UK-based biochar product company selling biochar-enriched soil amendments for agriculture and horticulture. Comparable on the biochar fertilizer output side, though focused on developed markets rather than smallholder agriculture.
• Novocarbo: German biochar-based carbon removal company producing certified CO2 removal credits. Comparable as a European biochar carbon-removal peer in the same Airminers / ISC3 ecosystem and competing for the same voluntary carbon market buyers.
• BioLite: US/Kenya-headquartered clean cookstove and off-grid energy company producing biomass and solar products for emerging markets. Comparable in clean cookstove category and emerging-market distribution, though BioLite is at a much larger scale and broader product portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Verra: Standard-setting body for the voluntary carbon market (VCS, Gold Standard-adjacent). Relevant as the methodological gatekeeper whose biochar and cookstove protocols will determine whether ClimEtSan's credits are issuable and at what price.

Emerging players

• Puro.earth: Carbon removal marketplace and methodology owner for biochar and other engineered removal credits. Comparable as the marketplace/methodology infrastructure through which ClimEtSan's biochar credits could be issued and sold.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/climetsan-ontheground
• Instagraminstagram.com/climetsan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 ClimEtSan-OnTheGround