zeroforge.com

AI-powered carbon removal strategy simulator for EU leaders

Score: 7.6/10GermanyMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Germany and global actors have historically lacked clear leadership and scaled strategies for carbon removal technologies

Solution

ZeroForge lets EU policymakers and national governments build, simulate, and optimize carbon removal portfolios using interactive modeling of DAC, BECCS, enhanced weathering and other pathways. It calculates costs, timelines, and net-zero alignment while providing ready-to-use strategy templates. Technology developers can model how their solutions fit into national plans.

Target Audience

EU climate policymakers, national governments pursuing net-zero goals, and carbon removal technology developers

Differentiator

Combines techno-economic simulation, real-time EU policy alignment scoring, and leadership benchmarking in one purpose-built tool — no other platform translates CDR science into actionable government strategy models.

Brand Voice

professional

Features

Strategy Dashboard

must-have35h

Central workspace to create, version, and manage multiple national or regional CDR strategies

CDR Technology Library

must-have28h

Curated database of 25+ carbon removal methods with performance, cost, and readiness data

Portfolio Simulator

must-have55h

Drag-and-drop builder that models combined removal volumes, costs, and timelines over 2030-2050

Policy Alignment Scanner

must-have32h

Automatically scores strategies against EU CRCF, Net-Zero Industry Act, and national targets

Report Generator

must-have25h

One-click export of polished PDF strategy decks and Excel data packages for ministries

Team Collaboration

must-have20h

Invite colleagues from different departments with role-based permissions

AI Recommendations

nice-to-have40h

GPT-4 powered suggestions for technology mixes based on country context and budget

Scenario Comparison

nice-to-have30h

Side-by-side visual comparison of up to 4 different strategy scenarios

Benchmark Database

nice-to-have35h

Anonymous aggregated data from other EU member states for peer comparison

Public Data Integrations

future60h

Pull live data from EU ETS, Eurostat, and national inventories

Total Build Time: 360 hours

Database Schema

organizations

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo
typetextNo
countrytextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • users belong to organizations via org_id

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
org_iduuidNo
roletextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • references organizations(id)

strategies

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
org_iduuidNo
nametextNo
target_yearintNo
model_datatextYes
alignment_scoreintYes
statustextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • references organizations(id)
  • has many strategy_technologies

strategy_technologies

ColumnTypeNullable
strategy_iduuidNo
technology_iduuidNo
scaleintNo
cost_per_tonintYes

Relationships:

  • composite key to strategies and technologies

API Endpoints

GET
/api/strategies

List all strategies for current organization

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/strategies

Create new strategy with initial parameters

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/simulate

Run portfolio simulation and return results

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/alignment-score

Calculate policy alignment score

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/technologies

Fetch CDR technology library

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 with Tailwind, shadcn/ui, Tremor dashboards and Recharts
Backend
Next.js Route Handlers + tRPC
Database
Neon Postgres
Auth
Clerk
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
PrismaOpenAI APIZodReact Hook Form

Build Timeline

Week 1: Foundation and auth

38h
  • Project scaffold
  • Clerk + Neon setup
  • Core database schema
  • Basic landing page

Week 2: Technology library and dashboard

42h
  • Technology CRUD admin
  • Strategy dashboard UI
  • User onboarding flow

Week 3: Core simulation engine

48h
  • Portfolio builder UI
  • Backend simulation math model
  • Chart visualizations

Week 4: Policy alignment and reports

35h
  • Alignment scoring logic
  • PDF report generation with react-pdf
  • Export functionality

Week 5: Polish, AI, and testing

32h
  • AI recommendation endpoint
  • User testing fixes
  • Landing page copy and SEO

Week 6: Payments, launch prep

25h
  • Stripe integration + tiers
  • Onboarding emails
  • Documentation and help center
Total Timeline: 6 weeks • 295 hours

Pricing Tiers

Starter

$0/mo

Limited to 1 user and basic simulations

  • 1 active strategy
  • Basic library access
  • PDF export
  • Community templates

Pro

$25/mo

Up to 10 users per organization

  • Unlimited strategies
  • Full simulation engine
  • Policy alignment scanner
  • AI recommendations
  • Priority email support

Enterprise

$99/mo

Unlimited users and custom integrations

  • Everything in Pro
  • Custom technology data
  • Dedicated policy analyst calls
  • SSO
  • Benchmark database access

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 1856%$128$1,536
Month 662011%$1,705$20,460

Unit Economics

$95
CAC
$1420
LTV
4%
Churn
82%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 14.9xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Build credible carbon removal strategies in days, not years

The simulation platform used by EU policymakers and governments to lead on scaled CDR deployment.

Feature Highlights

Interactive 2030-2050 simulator
EU policy alignment scoring
Ready-to-present ministerial reports
Live technology performance data

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Finally a tool that turns our net-zero targets into concrete portfolios.' — Head of Climate, Ministry of Environment, Netherlands"
"'The alignment scanner caught gaps we would have missed.' — Senior Advisor, European Commission"
"'Best $25 we've spent on climate tech.' — Policy Lead, German Federal Environment Agency"

First Three Customers

1. DM cold outreach to 40 EU climate directors using the 'Leadership Gap' research report as hook, offering 3 months free in exchange for feedback. 2. Present at the next Carbon Removal Europe event and run a workshop using the tool live. 3. Partner with one national developer association (e.g. German CDR association) for co-branded webinar and exclusive beta access for their members.

Launch Channels

ProductHuntLinkedIn (EU climate policy groups)Twitter/X climate communityCarbon Removal Europe newsletterEffective Altruism Climate Forum

SEO Keywords

carbon removal strategy softwarecdr simulation tooleu carbon removal policy toolgovernment cdr planning dashboardcarbon dioxide removal simulator

Competitive Analysis

CarbonPlan

carbonplan.org
Free research tools
Strength

Excellent open data and visualizations

Weakness

No interactive strategy builder or policy alignment engine

Our Advantage

We give policymakers ready-to-use decision tools instead of just data

Enterprise carbon accounting
Strength

Strong forest CDR focus and satellite data

Weakness

Limited to nature-based and not policy-oriented

Our Advantage

Our platform covers all CDR pathways and speaks directly to regulatory frameworks

🏰 Moat Strategy

Curated, regularly updated techno-economic database of European CDR projects combined with policy mapping logic that improves with every new strategy created (data moat + network effects)

⏰ Why Now?

EU CRCF regulation finalized in 2024 and member states racing to publish national CDR strategies before 2026 deadlines creates immediate demand for practical planning infrastructure.

Risks & Mitigation

markethigh severity

Policymakers move slowly and have long procurement cycles

Mitigation

Target national agencies and consultants who advise multiple governments; offer self-serve Pro tier

technicalmedium severity

Simulation model accuracy questioned by experts

Mitigation

Partner with established research institutions for model validation and be transparent about assumptions

Validation Roadmap

pre-build14 days

Conduct 12 customer interviews with EU policymakers and CDR developers

Success: At least 8 confirm they would pay €25+/mo for the described tool

mvp45 days

Launch closed beta to 25 organizations and collect usage + feedback

Success: ≥40% weekly active users and ≥3 paid conversions

Pivot Options

  • Pivot to corporate CDR procurement platform
  • Become dedicated EU CRCF compliance software
  • White-label tool for consulting firms advising governments

Quick Stats

Build Time
295h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$6,500
Market Size
$18.0M
Features
10
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
5