Top 10 Durable Carbon Removal Buyers: Microsoft’s 2.76 M Tonne Ørsted Deal & 2 Major Agreements (2024-2026)

The market for durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is defined by a concentrated set of large technology companies, led overwhelmingly by Microsoft, driving demand for high-integrity, technology-based credits. These buyers are strategically shifting away from traditional offsets toward verifiable, long-duration sequestration methods like Direct Air Capture (DAC), biochar, and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). Publicly announced agreements reveal that Microsoft, through direct multi-year offtake contracts, and buyer coalitions like Frontier Climate—backed by Stripe, Alphabet, and Meta—are the primary forces shaping the industry by providing bankable demand for nascent projects. The dominant market theme for 2025 and beyond is this “flight to quality, ” as corporations seek to meet ambitious net-zero targets and withstand growing stakeholder scrutiny by investing in credits with sequestration permanence exceeding 1, 000 years.

1. Microsoft Signs First Asia ERW Carbon Removal Deal With Alt Carbon

Corporate Buyer: Microsoft
Removal Volume: 36, 920 tonnes CO₂e
Technology Type: Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW)
Key Details: This multi-year agreement marks Microsoft’s first purchase of ERW credits in Asia, diversifying its portfolio geographically and technologically.
Source: Microsoft Signs First Asia ERW Carbon Removal Deal With Alt …

2. Microsoft Announces Largest Soil Carbon Removal Agreement with Indigo Ag

Corporate Buyer: Microsoft
Removal Volume: Not specified
Technology Type: Soil Carbon
Key Details: Part of a series of major deals in early 2026, this was announced as the largest soil carbon removal agreement to date, though specific volume was not disclosed.
Source: Microsoft Pauses New Carbon Removal Credit Purchases – ESG News

3. Microsoft Signs 626, 000-Tonne Carbon Removal Deal in Canada

Corporate Buyer: Microsoft
Removal Volume: 626, 000 tonnes CO₂e
Technology Type: Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)
Key Details: A long-term offtake agreement structured to finance the North Star BECCS project, developed by Deep Sky & Equinox.
Source: Microsoft Signs 626, 000-Tonne Carbon Removal Deal With Canada …

4. JPMorgan Chase Enters DAC Market with 1 Point Five Agreement

Corporate Buyer: JPMorgan Chase
Removal Volume: 50, 000 tonnes CO₂e
Technology Type: Direct Air Capture (DAC)
Key Details: A significant direct purchase of CDR credits from 1 Point Five’s DAC technology, signaling growing interest from the financial services sector.
Source: 1 Point Five Announces 50, 000 Metric Ton Carbon Removal … – Oxy

5. Microsoft and Exomad Green Announce Major Biochar Deal

Corporate Buyer: Microsoft
Removal Volume: 32, 000 tonnes CO₂e
Technology Type: Biochar
Key Details: At the time of its announcement in May 2025, this was the world’s largest biochar carbon removal agreement.
Source: Exomad Green Announces World’s Largest Biochar Carbon …

6. Microsoft Commits to 2.76 Million Tonnes of BECCS Removal with Ørsted

Corporate Buyer: Microsoft
Removal Volume: 2, 760, 000 tonnes CO₂e
Technology Type: Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)
Key Details: A landmark 11-year agreement for Microsoft to purchase nearly 2.76 million metric tons of carbon removal from Ørsted’s project at the Avedøre Power Station in Denmark.
Source: A Policy Framework for Scaling Up Permanent Carbon Dioxide …

7. Microsoft Purchases 500, 000 Tonnes of DAC Credits from 1 Point Five

Corporate Buyer: Microsoft
Removal Volume: 500, 000 tonnes CO₂e
Technology Type: Direct Air Capture (DAC)
Key Details: An agreement for Microsoft to purchase carbon removal credits generated at the Stratos DAC plant in Texas.
Source: 1 Point Five Announces Agreement to Sell 500, 000 Metric Tons … – Oxy

Major Corporate Carbon Removal Offtake Agreements (2024-2026)

Microsoft Dominates Carbon Removal Credit Purchases

The section heading serves as a title for an overview of major corporate agreements. The chart perfectly illustrates this by quantifying the dominant role of Microsoft in purchasing carbon removal credits, which is the primary subject of the surrounding sections.

(Source: Cleantech Group)

Durable CDR Applications, Microsoft’s Portfolio Across 4+ Technologies

The pattern of purchases reveals a deliberate portfolio strategy among leading buyers, indicating the market is hedging its bets rather than consolidating around a single removal pathway. Microsoft’s activity exemplifies this approach, with significant offtake agreements spanning multiple technologies: large-scale BECCS with Ørsted (2.76 million tonnes) and the Canadian project (626, 000 tonnes), major DAC purchases from 1 Point Five (500, 000 tonnes), and targeted investments to scale newer technologies like biochar with Exomad Green (32, 000 tonnes) and ERW with Alt Carbon (36, 920 tonnes). This diversification serves as a critical risk mitigation strategy against potential technology failures, delivery shortfalls, or unforeseen cost escalations. It signals that while the goal is high-durability removal, no single technology has yet proven superior across all metrics of cost, scalability, and verifiability, necessitating a multi-pronged investment approach to build a resilient supply chain.

Carbon Avoidance Credits Dominate Corporate Offsetting

The section discusses Microsoft’s portfolio of ‘durable CDR applications.’ This chart provides essential market context by showing that carbon avoidance credits are far more common, thus highlighting why a specific focus on the smaller but more durable ‘removal’ segment is a distinct and important strategy.

(Source: Nature)

North America & Europe, Microsoft’s 2.76 M Tonne Ørsted Deal Leads

The geographic landscape of durable CDR is heavily concentrated in North America and Europe, where a combination of policy incentives, technological expertise, and suitable geology converge. The United States is a clear hub for DAC development, anchored by projects like 1 Point Five’s Stratos plant in Texas, which has secured offtakes from both Microsoft and JPMorgan Chase. Canada is emerging as a leader in BECCS, evidenced by the Microsoft-backed North Star project. Europe’s leadership is highlighted by the massive 2.76 million tonne BECCS deal between Microsoft and Denmark’s Ørsted. These regions benefit from established industrial infrastructure and supportive government policies like the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The June 2026 deal with Alt Carbon in Asia is a significant, but isolated, indicator of future geographic diversification, suggesting the market’s core infrastructure and demand remain firmly rooted in Western economies for the near term.

Microsoft Tracks Progress Toward 2030 Carbon Negative Goal

The section highlights a single, leading deal by Microsoft (the 2.76 M tonne Ørsted deal). This chart provides the strategic context for such a large purchase by showing how it contributes to Microsoft’s overarching 2030 carbon negative goal, linking a specific action to the long-term corporate vision.

(Source: CarbonCredits.com)

2.76 M Tonnes, Microsoft’s BECCS & DAC Scaling Strategy

The recent wave of large-volume, multi-year offtake agreements demonstrates that key CDR technologies are transitioning from demonstration to commercial-scale deployment. Bankable contracts like Microsoft’s 11-year, 2.76 million tonne deal with Ørsted are essential for securing the massive project financing required to build first-of-a-kind facilities. Similarly, the 500, 000 tonne DAC agreement with 1 Point Five provides the revenue certainty needed to scale production. These deals confirm that DAC and BECCS are considered mature enough for commercial investment, albeit at a premium price. Meanwhile, technologies like biochar and ERW are on a similar trajectory but at an earlier stage, as shown by the smaller but still significant deal sizes (e.g., 32, 000 tonnes of biochar). The inclusion of soil carbon deals, while notable for scale, highlights the market’s continued use of a broad toolkit, even as focus sharpens on methods with the highest permanence and verifiability.

Microsoft Dominates 2024 Carbon Removal Market

The section heading focuses on the large scale of Microsoft’s BECCS & DAC scaling strategy. The chart provides visual evidence of Microsoft’s market dominance, giving context to the scale and significance of the strategy mentioned in the heading.

(Source: CDR.fyi)

Carbon Removal Market Outlook, Frontier’s $1 B+ Commitment (2026+)

The most critical strategic imperative for 2026 is for new corporate buyers to enter the market with conviction, as the supply of high-quality, durable CDR credits will continue to be severely constrained by demand from a handful of mega-buyers.

• If demand remains concentrated with pioneers like Microsoft, watch for continued high prices on premium credits, potentially locking out smaller firms and creating a tiered market. This could lead to a bifurcation where a premium is paid for verifiable tech-based removal, while lower-quality credits face reputational and market risk.
• If buyer coalitions like Frontier Climate succeed in attracting new members beyond their founding cohort (Alphabet, Meta, etc.), watch for an acceleration in funding for a wider array of early-stage CDR technologies. This could be happening as these coalitions de-risk investment and provide a viable pathway for more companies to participate, diversifying the supply base.
• If Microsoft’s reported pause on *new* deals in April 2026 extends, watch for a potential short-term window of opportunity for other buyers. Suppliers who have built capacity based on anticipated demand from the market leader may actively seek new offtakers, potentially creating more favorable contract terms for companies like JPMorgan Chase or Amazon looking to scale their purchases.

Carbon Removal Growth Scenarios to 2050

The section discusses the future outlook of the carbon removal market. The chart directly supports this theme by providing long-term growth projections specifically for carbon removal, aligning with the forward-looking nature of the heading.

(Source: Carbon Direct)

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of the corporate buyers driving the durable carbon removal market. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Which corporate buyers are gaining or losing ground in securing the most durable carbon removal supply?
• What is the outlook for durable CDR deployment, driven by corporate buyers like Microsoft and Frontier Climate, by 2030?
• What are the opportunities for DAC, BECCS, and Biochar suppliers in the corporate offtake market?

This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.

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