Microsoft has a commitment to become carbon-free by 2030. However, in the meantime, the company continues to create carbon dioxide emissions. As one of the most environmentally proactive Big Tech companies, Microsoft has penned a deal with CarbonCapture to store its emissions underground.
CarbonCapture is an LA-based startup with a facility in Wyoming for storing carbon emissions. The company's direct air capture (DAC) plant is known as Project Bison and is expected to open in the second half of 2024.
Project Bison is built on modular technology developed by CarbonCapture that draws CO2 from ambient air and then stores it underground. This means those emissions do not form into atmospheric greenhouse gas and add to climate change.
“This agreement with CarbonCapture helps us move toward our carbon negative goal, while also helping to catalyze the growth of the direct air capture industry as a whole,” Microsoft's carbon removal portfolio director Phillip Goodman says in the announcement.
In 2020, Redmond said it will reduce emissions to become carbon negative by 2030. The decision followed a 2017 commitment to cut 75% of its carbon emissions by the same date and builds on 2019 revisions of 70% renewable energy by 2023.
Ongoing Plan
While many mistakenly think the plan means Microsoft will stop using fossil fuels, that is not the case. Microsoft's commitment means by 2030 it will remove more CO2 emissions from the world than it puts in through the use fossil fuels
The partnership with CarbonCapture will not solve the issue on its own, and will only make a small contribution to Microsoft's plan. According to CarbonCapture, it will capture and store 10,000 metric tons of CO2 each year when its plant opens.
“We're thrilled to help Microsoft move toward its commitment to be carbon negative by 2030 and to remove all of its historic CO2 emissions by 2050,” says Adrian Corless, CEO and CTO, CarbonCapture, Inc. “Validation of CarbonCapture's scalable approach to DAC from a forward-thinking company like Microsoft is an important signal to the entire market, demonstrating the value of high-quality carbon removal credits.”
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