Arbor, a carbon-negative power company, announced an agreement to deliver 25,000 tons of high-quality, permanent carbon dioxide removal to Microsoft.
Starting in 2027, Arbor will support Microsoft’s climate goals by delivering 5,000 tons of carbon removal per year while generating 5MW of clean electricity—enough to power roughly 4,000 US homes year-round—using readily available organic waste as a fuel source for its compact, modular system.
“This contract with Microsoft serves as a significant endorsement from one of the most influential and trusted leaders in the industry,” said Brad Hartwig, CEO of Arbor. “Microsoft’s commitment to draw down their historical emissions by 2050 perfectly aligns with our mission to bring the planet back into balance with carbon-negative electricity and permanent carbon removal. This agreement underlines the promise of our technology and is another critical step in getting this project off the ground. Together, we’re not just powering the future—we are erasing the emissions of the past.”
Today’s news follows the recent announcement that Arbor is the first supplier signed on to have credits issued against a new protocol from Isometric for Biogenic Carbon Capture and Sequestration (BCCS), and all carbon removal delivered to Microsoft through this agreement will be registered with Isometric. Isometric is the world’s most rigorous carbon removal registry with a mission to ensure the transition to carbon removal happens responsibly and fast. The scientific rigor and transparency behind Isometric’s CO2 removal verification process further validates the technology behind Arbor.
The Arbor system is based on the fundamental principles of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), but reimagined with novel technology that makes it emissions-free and extremely modular. Arbor's team is leveraging recent advancements in oxy-combustion and supercritical turbomachinery - many of which they pioneered while developing rocket engines over the last decade. When applied to electricity generation, these innovations enable a system that is both cheaper and faster to deploy than a traditional power plant, without compromising on efficiency.
“The technical promise and modularity of Arbor’s system makes it a very compelling climate solution,” said Brian Marrs, Senior Director for Carbon Removal and Energy at Microsoft. “Arbor has established a clear, actionable blueprint for simultaneously removing CO2 while producing clean electricity. We look forward to collaborating with the Arbor team on our path to carbon-negativity.”
Arbor’s initial facility, which will supply credits to Microsoft, will be able to sequester and permanently store 75,000 tons of carbon per year–the equivalent of taking 16,000 cars off the road–while generating 5 MW of clean electricity. Once fully scaled in 2030, Arbor will be able to generate 100 MW of electricity while removing almost two-million tons of carbon each year. Being able to rapidly scale to these volumes also enables Arbor to achieve the silver bullet in durable carbon removal: a price well below $100 per ton--while simultaneously solving the fundamental gap in clean energy: baseload power at rates competitive to fossil fuels.
