Key Takeaways:
- Microsoft contracts initial removal of 1,333 tons of CO2, with options to remove up to 350,000 tons over the next 10 years.
- Ebb Carbon’s electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement technology will capture and store the carbon.
- Microsoft aims to be carbon negative by 2030, using innovative solutions to reduce its carbon footprint.
Microsoft has signed a significant carbon removal deal with Ebb Carbon, committing to an initial removal of 1,333 tons of carbon dioxide and potentially expanding to 350,000 tons over the next decade. This ocean-based carbon removal agreement is part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to become carbon negative by 2030, according to its latest environmental sustainability report.
Ebb’s Ocean-Based Technology
Ebb Carbon will utilize an electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement method, a process that mimics the natural chemical reactions in the ocean. This approach increases the ocean’s ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide by converting seawater CO2 into bicarbonate and carbonate ions, which safely store carbon.
According to Microsoft’s Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal, Brian Marrs, “Ebb’s technology leverages the ocean’s ‘massive surface area’ and natural carbon removal processes ‘to durably remove and store large volumes of atmospheric carbon.’” Marrs emphasized the importance of the ocean in the global carbon cycle and the potential of scaling ocean-based carbon removal solutions.
Scaling Carbon Removal for the Future
Microsoft’s partnership with Ebb Carbon is just one of several efforts the company has undertaken in 2024. Alongside ocean-based methods, Microsoft has signed deals in agroforestry, forest management, and soil-based carbon farming to diversify its approach to carbon removal.
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Ebb CEO Ben Tarbell commented, “Microsoft is setting a powerful example with its commitment to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and by using its purchasing power to accelerate the most promising climate solutions.”
This agreement reflects Microsoft’s ambition to lead in carbon reduction through innovative and scalable solutions, while contributing to climate change mitigation at a global level.
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