Industrial mineralization company Arca announced that it has signed a new 10-year agreement with Microsoft to permanently remove nearly 300,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere by using mining waste to transform it into rock.
Founded in 2021, British Columbia-based Arca provides technology to accelerate the natural process of carbon mineralization in alkaline industrial waste, removing CO2 from the air, and storing it for thousands of years. The company’s technology uses high intensity energy bursts to make mine tailings more reactive, with the activated feedstock exposed to the air to begin the natural process of carbon mineralization, and then exposing fresh feedstock once the surface layer is fully saturated with carbonated minerals to further accelerate and maximize carbon sequestration. The company uses remote control rovers to churn the surface of the waste facility, and expose fresh rock to atmospheric CO2, as well as autonomous rovers to monitor and verify the rate and volume of carbon capture.
Arca highlighted a series of key benefits to its carbon removal approach, including the abundance of industrial waste as feedstock, minimal energy, land and water requirements enabling easy integration into existing industrial sites, and long-term removal and robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), as well as reduced environmental risks, employment opportunity creation, and the ability to transform waste liabilities for industrial companies and miners into assets.
Arca CEO Paul Needham said:
“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. 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.”
The announcement marks the latest in a series of large-scale carbon removal agreements by Microsoft, forming part of the tech giant’s initiative to become carbon negative by 2030. Microsoft is by far the largest corporate buyers of carbon removal credits globally, with purchases approaching 31 million tonnes, according to carbon dioxide removals (CDRs) platform CDR.fyi.
Phil Goodman, Director of Microsoft’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Program, said:
“This offtake agreement diversifies Microsoft’s carbon removal portfolio into a pathway that combines scalability and permanence. Arca brings notable scientific expertise and has proven they can sequester carbon through their demonstration project, giving us confidence to enter into a multi-year agreement. We are pleased to support Arca in advancing industrial mineralization.”
