The climate crisis is not just about doom and gloom. It is also about opportunity. The Paris Agreement stated the problem, with clear urgency and targets such as deep cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and a quick transition to low-carbon systems. These goals serve as a blueprint.
In this Innovating for Impact miniseries, we meet three small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are following that blueprint. All finalists in the WIPO Global Awards 2025, they demonstrate how innovation and IP strategy can work in lockstep to scale climate solution technologies into sustainable businesses.
We recently profiled Baniql, a green-nickel company that has woven IP into its business plan, and China’s Carbon One, a pioneering battery startup that has filed more than 350 patent applications. Here, we look towards Reykjavík, Iceland, where a carbon-capture company offers lessons on patent protection, global trademark registrations and more.
Carbon sequestration technology
Founded in the mid-2000s, Carbfix turns captured carbon into stone. Its patented process mimics a natural reaction that would normally take millennia, instead completing it in just two years. Carbfix captures CO2 and dissolves it in water, then injects the solution into underground basalt rock formations. There, the CO2 reacts with minerals such as calcium and magnesium to form solid carbonate rock.
“Once CO2 is injected underground, there is almost no risk of it leaking,” says Edda Sif Pind Aradóttir, the company’s CEO. “It ultimately turns into stone, eliminating the need for long-term monitoring.” In contrast to conventional carbon storage, which might need to be monitored for a century, Carbfix’s mineralized CO2 is effectively locked away permanently.
For Carbfix, securing its processes through IP protection was as critical as the innovations themselves. Developing breakthroughs is only half the battle. Protecting them is just as important.
Patenting Carbfix CCS technology early
As at Baniql and Carbon One, Carbfix’s leadership sees IP as a source of value, following a “patents first” approach: file early and often. Carbfix has a global IP policy and an internal steering committee that meets to spot patentable inventions at the research and development (R&D) stage. To date, the company maintains eight patent families covering its core processes. One key patent covering the process of dissolving CO2 in water and injecting it into rock has been filed in more than 30 countries, reflecting the global relevance of the company’s technology. Carbfix has also been a named applicant in four applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) between 2020 and 2025.
Carbfix generally prefers patents over trade secrets for its most significant innovations. “If we kept our biggest breakthroughs secret, we’d risk leaks,” Aradóttir says. “That’s why we patent our most significant innovations. Even though it means revealing technical details, we gain legal protection and exclusive rights.”
The company also protects its brand through global trademark registrations – essential in establishing its name as a player in the carbon-removal sector. This also strengthens its position with investors. “Investors often ask about our IP strategy,” says Carbfix chief of systems, Bergur Sigfússon. “A solid patent portfolio demonstrates our professionalism and expertise.”
Lessons on intellectual property for innovators
Like Baniql and Carbon One, Carbfix can teach us much about how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should approach IP, chiefly to treat it as a core investment and not merely an afterthought.
“Protect your IP immediately,” says Carbfix IP manager, Gudmundur Reynaldsson. “Patents and trademarks give your company value and prove you own your technology. They not only prevent infringement but also signal credibility to investors.”
The Reykjavík company has made intellectual property foundational to its development, in part by adapting its international filings to fit its priority markets – regions with the right geology to accommodate its processes. This targeted approach helps Carbfix to balance protection with cost.
Pairing innovation with strategic IP management can lead to real climate impact, as demonstrated by Baniql, Carbon One and Carbfix.
“We can’t wait millennia for nature to lock away our carbon,” Aradóttir says, “so we’re giving it a helping hand today.” That mindset ties these ventures together, proving that, with the right technology and a sound IP strategy, startups and SMEs can tackle climate challenges and scale up solutions quickly.
The company featured in this article was among the finalists of the WIPO Global Awards 2025. Selected from a record 780 applications across 95 countries, the 10 winners exemplify how IP can be used strategically to scale up solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges. The 2026 call for entries is open for applications until March 31. The competition is seeking SMEs, startups and university spinouts that use IP to create value for their business.
