Ostuni (BR) - Madrid, 26 May 2026 — Radica (formerly Alberami), a Mediterranean carbon infrastructure company based in Ostuni (BR), is experiencing a period of rapid acceleration, marked by two newly achieved milestones. On one hand, the company has just announced the inclusion of its AgroEcology Italy project into the climate portfolio of Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline group. On the other, it has secured the #26 spot in the Sifted 100 Southern Europe 2026 ranking, which annually identifies the 100 fastest-growing startups by revenue across Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece.

These two parallel achievements reinforce one another: Radica is not merely a project with a high climate impact, but a business scaling rapidly in the market. This is a rare profile in the carbon farming sector, where scientific credibility and commercial traction seldom progress at the same pace.

“We are experiencing a magical moment that rewards the immense hard work our team is putting in,” says Francesco Musardo, CEO of Radica.“I am incredibly proud of our progress; the Lufthansa Group announcement and the Sifted ranking are thrilling validations that energise us. We are building something that works on multiple levels simultaneously: real impact on the ground, technology, and commercial growth. Radica was founded to bridge the infrastructural gap in Mediterranean carbon farming: digitalising farms, transforming environmental data into verifiable financial assets, and connecting farmers to global carbon markets. We already have over 25,000 hectares under management, 650 companies involved across Italy and Spain, 84,000 verified carbon removals, and over 100,000 tonnes already under contract until 2030. But we are only getting started: the Mediterranean holds enormous potential, and we are ready to accelerate.”

The AgroEcology Italy Project in the Lufthansa Group Portfolio

Lufthansa Group’s revamped climate portfolio structures its 14 projects into two categories: "avoidance" projects, which prevent CO₂ emissions outside the aviation sector, and "removal" projects, which actively extract CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it long-term. The latter include both nature-based approaches—such as the reforestation of woodlands and natural landscapes—and technological solutions, including biochar production and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS). The share of permanent removal projects has doubled compared to the previous year, now accounting for approximately 20% of the entire portfolio.

Radica’s AgroEcology Italy is the only Italian project selected across the entire portfolio. It fits into the removal category with a nature-based approach applied to Mediterranean woody crops. Furthermore, the project introduces Radica's proprietary MRV methodology for these specific crops into Lufthansa Group’s portfolio: a verified, scalable approach unprecedented in Southern Europe. The selection comes at the conclusion of a Request for Proposals (RFP) by Lufthansa Group, in which Radica participated alongside its partner Ceezer, resulting in a three-year multi-year agreement.

Developed across olive groves, orchards, vineyards, and other woody crops, the project is already active in 15 Italian regions to counter the progressive soil degradation caused by decades of intensive monoculture. The project is certified by the International Carbon Registry (ICR) with a potential impact of up to 1,142,682 tonnes of CO₂ removed per year, operating under the VM0042 methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management. The specific focus on Mediterranean woody crops—olive groves, orchards, citrus groves, and vineyards—allows the project to tap into a carbon sequestration potential estimated to be 3–4 times higher than that of arable cereal crops in Northern Europe.

The main benefits of the project include:

• Verified carbon removal from agricultural soil, featuring high-integrity ICR-certified credits.
• Improved soil health, enhanced water retention capacity, and reduced use of chemical inputs.
• Biodiversity restoration through hedgerows and the creation of habitats for pollinators.
• Direct financial support for farmers, with a particular focus on female-led agricultural businesses.
• Contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1, 2, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17).

The Sifted 100 Southern Europe Recognition

Sifted is the premier media outlet for the European tech and startup sector, backed by the Financial Times. Its annual Sifted 100 ranking, based on revenue growth verified through audited financial data, is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative benchmarks for identifying the fastest-growing businesses on the continent.

Published on 20 May 2026, the Sifted 100 Southern Europe is now in its third annual edition, ranking the 100 startups with the fastest revenue growth in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. The ranking is determined by the two-year revenue Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), cross-referenced with certified financial statements. Radica ranks at #26, standing out as the sole Italian representative from the agritech and carbon farming sector in the top 30.

This positioning reflects the revenue growth recorded by Radica over the past three years, driven by the expansion of its carbon farming operations in Italy and Spain, alongside its entry into new institutional carbon markets.

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