Arca Climate Technologies inks 10-year carbon removal offtake deal with Microsoft

Arca Climate Technologies announced Wednesday at the IEA Energy Innovation Forum an offtake agreement with Microsoft to deliver nearly 300,000 tonnes of durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over 10 years. Arca is one of the first companies commercializing mineralization for the capture and storage of atmospheric CO2 that is supported by scientific research and technology development.  The Canadian company was named in 2022 as one of the country’s most investable cleantech ventures.  This year, Arca co-authored a whitepaper, Beyond Extraction: Transforming Mine Waste Into A Net-Zero, Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity, that theoretically connects the surging demand for carbon removal credits with unique advantages of mine waste mineralization, compared to other carbon removal methods. The agreement with Microsoft, Arca said, is a significant development for its solution in industrial mineralization – a carbon removal pathway that leverages existing industrial infrastructure and repurposes alkaline waste streams to capture and permanently store atmospheric CO2 as stable carbonate minerals. “The next generation of clean growth will be built by Canada’s first-class innovation ecosystem – companies like Arca, which are turning Canadian ingenuity into global leadership,” Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources said at the forum.  “Carbon removal technologies are not only strategic tools we can use to tackle climate change, they create good jobs and position Canada at the forefront of the global opportunity of a low-carbon economy,” Hodgson said. Arca’s first commercial projects repurpose the byproducts of mining such as tailings and waste rock, accelerating a natural geochemical process called carbon mineralization, the transformation of gaseous CO2 into solid mineral form.  By doing so, Arca said it delivers measurable, independently verified, and highly durable carbon removals while making mine waste safer and creating employment opportunities for host communities. Arca completed its first full-scale mineralization demonstration project at an active mine site this year. The plan is to expand its pipeline of mineralization projects as it seeks to advance the pathway from pilots to million-tonne operations, the company said, adding that Microsoft’s long-term commitment accelerates this trajectory. “We have a unique opportunity to utilize one form of waste (mine tailings) to neutralize another (excess atmospheric CO2). The result is less waste and a healthier environment”, Arca CEO Paul Needham said in a statement. “This agreement with Microsoft validates Industrial Mineralization as a viable pathway for durable carbon removal with the potential to scale and meaningfully contribute to global climate goals.” Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com