Soil Carbon Solutions Center, Colorado State University

Name

Soil Carbon Solutions Center, Colorado State University

Legal name

Soil Carbon Solutions Center

Website

https://soilcarbonsolutionscenter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Research Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (EUABABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Soil & Biomass Carbon Measurement (Soil Sampling, Forest Inventory, Blue Carbon) (EUABACAH), Soil Carbon & Regenerative Agriculture Removal (Soil Organic Carbon Credits) (EUABAFAG), Carbon Accounting, Verification & Registry Services (MRV, Audits, Certification) (IMAMAJAE), Grassland/Rangeland Management & Restoration (EUABABAF)

Keywords

• Soil carbon modeling
• Ecosystem biogeochemical models
• Greenhouse gas inventory
• Soil carbon measurement
• Climate-smart agriculture

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Collins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: Funded by organizations including NSF, federal grants, and foundation awards for climate-smart agriculture and soil carbon research
2. Consortium Membership: Ecosystem Modeling and Data Consortium provides access to models and data products for members from academic and research institutions

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Soil Carbon Solutions Center develops and disseminates process-based ecosystem models (DayCent, MEMS, Century), curated soil carbon and greenhouse gas datasets, and training programs to enable researchers, agricultural producers, and policymakers to measure, verify, and scale soil-based climate solutions. It distributes these through the Ecosystem Modeling and Data Consortium (EMDC) and produces specialized tools such as the Rangeland Carbon Tracking and Management Tool.

Product overview

The Soil Carbon Solutions Center at Colorado State University operates as a research consortium offering a suite of ecosystem modeling tools and data products for soil carbon and greenhouse gas research. The core offerings include three interconnected ecosystem models: DayCent (daily time-step), MEMS (microbial-enzyme-mediated soil carbon formation), and Century (monthly time-step legacy model). These are supported by extensive data products including GRACEnet, global soil carbon fraction datasets, time-series soil carbon data, N₂O databases, and grassland management data. The center provides educational training programs (DayCent Training, MEMs Training, Uncertainty Training) and develops specialized tools like the Rangeland Carbon Tracking and Management Tool and DDcentUtils R package. All tools and data are distributed through a consortium membership model with password-protected access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ecosystem Modeling and Data Consortium (EMDC) A consortium providing access to ecosystem modeling tools (DayCent, MEMS, Century), data products, and resources for researchers studying soil carbon and greenhouse gas dynamics. Membership requires agreement to terms of use.
• DayCent Ecosystem Model A daily time-step process-based ecosystem model simulating biogeochemical carbon and nitrogen fluxes, plant growth, organic matter dynamics, soil water/temperature regimes, and nitrogen cycling and losses. Used in the U.S. EPA national greenhouse gas inventory.
• MEMS (Microbial-Enzyme-Mediated Stabilization) Model A process-based model simulating soil carbon formation and decomposition based on microbial-enzyme-mediated stabilization hypotheses. MEMS 2.0 expands capabilities with a multi-layer approach and an explicit nitrogen sub-model.
• Century Model A general monthly time-step model of plant-soil nutrient cycling that simulates carbon and nutrient dynamics for grasslands, agricultural lands, forests, and savannas. No longer under active development; superseded by DayCent.
• Rangeland Carbon Tracking and Management Tool Tool developed with Woodwell Climate Research Center to help land managers verify the effects of grazing management on soil carbon and devise strategies for building healthier soils and reducing land degradation.
• DDcentUtils R Package R package released on GitHub designed to streamline workflows for DayCent modeling and visualization of outputs. Used in SCSC training programs.
• DayCent Training Educational training program for using the DayCent ecosystem model for carbon and nitrogen flux simulations, delivered in-person and online.
• MEMs Training Educational training program for using the MEMS ecosystem model for soil carbon formation and decomposition simulations.
• Uncertainty Training Training program addressing uncertainty across the agricultural data pipeline from sampling design to laboratory analysis and modeling.
• GRACEnet Data Product Greenhouse gas Reductions through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network data with 235,848 observations across 57 sites in 19 states, covering cropland and grazeland soil carbon and GHG emissions data from 1981-2016.
• Global Soil Carbon Fractions Data Products Datasets on soil organic carbon pools including regenerative vs. conventional croplands (142 sites, 1,250 observations) and managed vs. unmanaged ecosystems, supporting soil carbon sequestration research.
• Global Time-Series Soil Carbon Data Curated time-series soil carbon data for developing and parameterizing DayCent and MEMS models, drawn from 58 experimental field sites across the globe (1876-2019).
• Global N2O Database Repository of nitrous oxide emission data from hundreds of sites globally with standardized formatting for comparison across different agricultural systems, containing 549,454 daily GHG observations from 55 sites (1991-2016).
• Global SOC: Grassland Management Data Synthesis of grassland ecosystem research investigating the influence of management and land use conversion on soil carbon, covering 244 sites (1938-2010).

Quantifiable outcome

• DayCent model used in USA EPA GHG inventory for national greenhouse gas reporting
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Grassroots CarboncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 February 2026Joined Colorado State University Consortium to advance soil carbon modeling at national scale. Partnership supports ecosystem modeling and data consortium activities.
• Arva IntelligencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 November 2025Joined the Ecosystem Modeling and Data Consortium (EMDC) to contribute to soil carbon modeling and data initiatives.
• Woodwell Climate Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Collaborative development of Rangeland Carbon Tracking and Management Tool and ongoing research on tracking rangeland soil carbon in southwest Colorado. Led by Megan Machmuller.
• Environmental Defense FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2021Collaboration on EDF Soil Protocols - developing scientifically rigorous protocols for soil carbon measurement and verification in carbon markets.
• Noble Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2019Collaborative research partner in Metrics, Management, and Monitoring (3M) project investigating pasture and rangeland soil health. Led by Noble Research Institute along with Michigan State University and CSU.
• Michigan State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2019Collaborative research partner in Metrics, Management, and Monitoring project studying soil health and its drivers across pasture and rangeland ecosystems.
• Texas A&M UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2019Dr. Mani Rouhi Rad from Texas A&M collaborated with CSU researchers on inferring supply of greenhouse gas abatement from US commodity producers in the corn belt.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): Major environmental NGO co-developing the EDF Soil Protocols with SCSC. Comparable in mission and influence on voluntary carbon market standards, but operates at a vastly larger scale across multiple environmental verticals, of which soil carbon is one.
• Indigo Ag: Large agtech company with an agricultural carbon program (Indigo Carbon) that procures soil carbon credits from growers. Comparable as a major commercial buyer of the kind of MRV rigor and protocols SCSC helps produce, and as a scaled counterpart in agricultural carbon market infrastructure.
• Verra: Largest voluntary carbon market standards body (VCS). Comparable in that it sets the methodological rules under which SCSC's soil carbon science is commercialized, and an indirect peer because the demand for SCSC's protocols and models is downstream of Verra's standard-setting decisions.

Direct peers

• Noble Research Institute: Largest independent U.S. agricultural research organization; co-leads the Metrics, Management, and Monitoring (3M) project with SCSC. Directly comparable in soil health research, rangeland focus, and producer-facing extension work, but with a larger operational footprint in regenerative ranching.
• Soil Health Institute: Non-profit dedicated to soil health measurement, assessment, and economic analysis. Closely comparable in mission, federal/industry funding model, and focus on standardized measurement protocols for cropland and grazing land soil carbon and health.
• Woodwell Climate Research Center: Non-profit climate research organization co-developing the Rangeland Carbon Tracking and Management Tool with SCSC. Directly comparable as a mission-aligned, grant-funded research center producing soil carbon science, MRV tools, and data products for land management and carbon markets.

Emerging players

• Nori: Carbon market platform that has issued soil carbon removal credits using methodologies grounded in soil organic carbon modeling. Comparable as a commercial consumer and disseminator of the type of rigorous soil carbon MRV SCSC develops, and a key channel for translating SCSC's science into issued credits.
• CIBO Technologies: Agricultural modeling and MRV company using process-based and AI models to support regenerative practice adoption and carbon programs. Comparable as a commercial user of soil carbon science targeting the same agricultural producer and carbon market customer base.
• Regrow: Commercial agronomic MRV platform that combines remote sensing and ecosystem modeling (including DayCent-derived approaches) for agricultural carbon programs. Comparable in underlying science but operates as a venture-backed software business rather than a research center, making it a faster-moving commercial counterpart to SCSC's tools.

Others

• Michigan State University: Academic collaborator on the 3M rangeland soil health project. Comparable as a peer research institution with overlapping soil carbon and agroecology faculty, but distinguished by its broader academic mission versus SCSC's focused center structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/CSU-Soil-Carbon-Solution-Center
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soil-carbon-solutions-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Soil Carbon Solutions Center, Colorado State University