TARGETING METHANE, TRANSFORMING THE CLIMATE
HIDDEN THREAT, BOLD SOLUTIONS
Atmospheric methane is surging—and it’s accelerating the climate crisis. Concentrations are now nearly four times higher than historical averages over the past 800,000 years and are rising faster than climate models projected. Despite being more than 200 times more dilute than carbon dioxide, methane is responsible for 30–45% of annual anthropogenic warming. It is one of the most potent and overlooked drivers of climate change—and also our fastest lever to slow it. Reducing methane can curb warming within years, not decades
Nearly 75% of global methane emissions come from diffuse, low-concentration sources—wetlands, lakes, agriculture, landfills, and wastewater systems—for which no scalable mitigation technologies exist today. And as the planet warms, natural systems are emitting more methane, threatening a dangerous climate feedback loop.
XPRIZE Mission Methane is designed to enable the critical solutions we need—targeting dilute and atmospheric methane emissions for which there are no scalable technologies today.
This is one of the greatest climate mitigation opportunities of our lifetime.
A NEW ERA OF CLIMATE INNOVATION
Mission Methane is XPRIZE’s boldest climate challenge since XPRIZE Carbon Removal—designed to catalyze a new field of innovation to mitigate, capture, or destroy methane from diffuse sources and the atmosphere.
OUR VISION
To dramatically reduce methane emissions this decade by launching and scaling solutions that are energy-efficient, climate-positive, and real-world ready.
This prize aims to transform a blind spot in climate action into a breakthrough field of innovation—mobilizing bold thinkers to engineer and scale technologies and strategies that prevent, remove, or destroy methane from diffuse, low-concentration sources or the atmosphere itself.
Mission Methane will turn bold ideas into validated solutions by setting clear performance targets focused on rapid deployment of methane mitigation technologies to slow global warming.
This is more than a prize. It’s a turning point - one that redefines what’s possible in methane mitigation and rewrites our climate trajectory for decades to come.
WHEN METHANE BECOMES MOMENTUM
Agriculture, waste, and energy sectors adopt scalable solutions that capture or destroy methane before it reaches the atmosphere, reducing emissions without sacrificing productivity.
Landfills, rice paddies, dairy farms, and wetlands become sites of innovation and mitigation, turning thousands of small sources into big collective impact.
With proven, validated tools to reduce methane, policymakers can set ambitious targets, enforce emission standards, and integrate methane removal into climate plans.
Mission Methane sparks the emergence of a new innovation economy, drawing in investment, research, and deployment across methane-heavy sectors.
Just like the Ansari XPRIZE reshaped spaceflight and Carbon Removal sparked an essential industry, Mission Methane becomes a defining moment in climate innovation history.
JOIN THE METHANE MOVEMENT
XPRIZE is calling on bold funders and fearless partners ready to join us in this groundbreaking revolution in climate action.
This is your chance to stand at the vanguard of change, helping launch the next great XPRIZE and reshape the future of our planet.
Join us and lead the charge toward a sustainable future for all.
Fill out the form below to learn how you can support Mission Methane: