UNDO, a leading carbon dioxide removal project developer, has signed a deal with Microsoft to advance enhanced rock weathering (ERW) carbon removal science.
The award will remove 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide funding for crucial scientific research in the ERW field. It will also contribute to Microsoft’s commitment to be carbon-negative by 2030. UNDO’s commercial relationship with Microsoft began in 2023 with a contract to remove 5,000 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere.
This announcement reflects a much larger deal that will see UNDO spread 65,000 tonnes of crushed silicate rock combined across the United Kingdom (40,000 tonnes) and Canada (25,000 tonnes), resulting in 15,000 tonnes of permanent carbon dioxide removal.
Jim Mann, CEO and Founder of UNDO, commented:
“This agreement with Microsoft is a clear signal to the market that enhanced rock weathering has potential to deliver scalable carbon removal, and that UNDO can deliver critical scientific research to instill more confidence in this vital climate tech. We are eager to continue our work advancing the science of enhanced rock weathering by scaling up our research and data-gathering capabilities, which will be greatly facilitated by Microsoft’s continued backing.”
Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy Markets at Microsoft, says:
“Microsoft is committed to being carbon-negative by 2030. We are excited to support UNDO’s enhanced rock weathering carbon removal projects with co-benefits for soils, farmers and rural communities. With this follow-on deal, we look forward to working with the UNDO team who will pioneer further deep science across different measurement techniques and at varying scales to deliver crucial ERW process data.”
The Climate Change Committee considers carbon dioxide removal necessary to reach the UK’s climate goals. The UK government’s 2021 Net Zero Strategy sets the ambition to deploy at least 5 MtCO₂ per year of ‘engineered’ removals in line with the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation.
This announcement represents a significant contribution to UNDO’s scientific research concerning the measurement, reporting and verification of ERW-based carbon dioxide removal. With the funding, UNDO will set up new field trials and monitoring sites, including one on a research farm owned by Newcastle University.
UNDO is currently establishing a range of operational commercial partnerships that will enable the spreading of millions of tonnes of silicate rock each year, a first step towards billion-tonne scale operations.
