Microsoft agrees to purchase 3.7 million tons of carbon removal

 Monday, April 14, 2025

CO280 partners with Microsoft to capture and store biogenic carbon emissions from U.S. pulp and paper mills, selling 3.7 million tons of CDR over 12 years in a significant agreement. Microsoft’s confidence in CO280’s CDR approach is demonstrated by an agreement to retrofit pulp and paper mills for biogenic CO2 capture and storage with SLB Capturi technology. CO280 has over 10 projects underway, with five set for CDR by 2030.

“The agreement with Microsoft is a significant milestone for CO280 and the CDR market,” commented Jonathan Rhone, co-founder and CEO of CO280. He further added, “CO280 is committed to delivering the highest quality, permanent carbon dioxide removal while supporting the economic and environmental health of the communities we serve. We’re incredibly grateful to Microsoft for their collaboration, leadership, and commitment to CDR excellence.”

Brian Marrs, senior director of Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft pointed out, “Microsoft is pleased to announce this deal with the team at CO280, which has proven how to combine innovative engineering with strong commercial development towards creating affordable and scalable carbon removal solutions. The CO280 strategy of adding carbon removal to existing paper mills is an efficient way to quickly scale carbon removal and bolster investment and jobs into timberland communities across the United States.”

By utilizing the pulp and paper industry’s current operational paradigm, CO280’s approach enables a productive and replicable means of expanding CDR. Among the main benefits are:

• Instant scalability: There is a great chance to deploy large-scale CDR because US pulp and paper mills release 88 million tonnes of biogenic CO2 annually. By utilizing biomass supply chains and existing mill infrastructure, retrofitting mills with carbon capture and storage lowers project complexity, risk, and expense. Replication and implementation will be accelerated by CO280’s strategy of standardizing project design, business model, and funding with pulp and paper partners.
• Biomass utilization sustainability: Sustainable biomass sourcing is a priority for the US pulp and paper sector. These mills respect forest health and uphold strict certification criteria while producing necessary goods like packaging and sanitary items. 90% of the wood used in the sector comes from mills certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), accounting for 97% of the total. To manufacture pulp, several mills only use recycled content and leftover biomass. The top voluntary carbon market biomass sustainability standards will be followed by all CO280 projects.
• Energy efficiency: The carbon capture plants in CO280 projects can be powered by excess waste heat and/or waste biomass, reducing their negative environmental effects and enhancing their overall sustainability.
  Near CO2 storage: The United States boasts some of the world’s best geology for storing CO2, and over 75% of its pulp and paper mills are situated within 100 miles of geologic storage locations. Furthermore, a burgeoning network of CO2 transportation and storage service providers in the United States is constructing the necessary infrastructure to securely and permanently store captured CO2.

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