Microsoft buys 3.6M metric tons of carbon removal from bioenergy plant

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has agreed to purchase 3.6 million carbon removal credits from a biofuels facility in Louisiana operated by C2X. The plant, expected to come online in 2029, will convert forestry waste into methanol—a fuel used in shipping and aviation and as a feedstock in chemical production. The facility is projected to produce over 500,000 metric tons of methanol annually.

As part of its operations, the plant will capture and store approximately 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, likely through underground sequestration.

This latest deal is part of Microsoft’s growing set of large-scale carbon removal purchases. Over the past year, the company has also secured agreements, including:

• 4.9 million metric tons with Vaulted Deep

• 3.7 million metric tons with CO280

• 7 million metric tons with Chestnut Carbon

Microsoft’s accelerated expansion of its global data centre network has put pressure on its pledge to become carbon-negative by 2030 — meaning it would remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits. While the company continues to invest heavily in renewable and nuclear energy, carbon removal purchases such as these are intended to help offset emissions that cannot be eliminated in the near future.