Microsoft signed a long term contract to purchase up to 315,000 metric tons of CO2 removal over a multi-year period from Penn spinout Heirloom Carbon Technologies. This deal is one of the largest permanent CO2 removal deals to-date and represents one of the first bankable carbon dioxide removal deals. The agreement comes after Heirloom’s Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub was selected by the US Department of Energy for up to $600 million in funding.
In addition to supporting Microsoft’s goal to be carbon-negative by 2030, the agreement unlocks a crucial funding mechanism to dramatically scale and reduce the cost of Heirloom’s Direct Air Capture facilities.
Heirloom CEO Shashank Samala said in Businesswire, “Microsoft has been an incredible supporter of Heirloom, helping us scale one of the world’s most cost-effective Direct Air Capture solutions. Bankable agreements of this magnitude enable Heirloom to raise project finance for our rapid scale-up, fueling exponential growth like what we’ve seen in the renewable energy industry.”