Microsoft signed a long-term contract to buy 315,000 metric tons of CO2 removal from Heirloom. It is a direct air capture company that utilizes the properties of limestone to curb CO2.
The company’s news mentions that the deal follows Heirloom’s DAC Hub selection by the U.S. Department of Energy for up to $600 million in matching funding. Project Cypress is one of the two hubs receiving the highest funding and planned to be in southwestern Louisiana.
Brian Marrs, Microsoft Senior Director of Energy and Carbon, said, “Microsoft’s agreement with Heirloom is another important step in helping build the market for high-quality carbon removal and supports our path to become carbon negative by 2030. As an investor in and customer of Heirloom, we believe that Heirloom’s technical approach and plan are designed for rapid iteration to help drive down the cost of large-scale Direct Air Capture at the urgent pace needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
The deal allows a funding mechanism for Heirloom that will assist it in future Direct Air Capture facilities.
Shashank Samala, Heirloom CEO, said, “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.”
The agreement claims to enable future project financing for Heirloom’s DAC, which is vital for large-scale infrastructure developments.
The company site mentions this funding to enable rapid scaling and commercialization of wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies.
The CO2 credit, purchased under the agreement, will be created in Heirloom’s next two commercial deployments in the U.S.
Source: https://www.heirloomcarbon.com/news/heirloom-and-microsoft-sign-permanent-co2-removal-deal
