Carbon capture and sequestration company 1PointFive on July 9 said it entered a deal to sell 500,000 metric tons (mt) of direct air capture (DAC) carbon removal credits to tech giant Microsoft.

As part of the six-year agreement, enabled by the STRATOS DAC facility being built by 1PointFive in Texas, captured CO2 will be stored underground and not used to produce oil and gas. The agreement marks the largest single purchase of CO2 removal credits enabled by DAC to date, according to 1PointFive, the CCUS business unit of Occidental Petroleum.

It is also expected to help push Microsoft toward its goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030.

“To achieve the gigatons of removals needed this century, first-of-a-kind projects like STRATOS are essential to move from pilots to scale,” said Brian Marrs, senior director for carbon removal and energy at Microsoft. “DAC plays an important role in Microsoft’s carbon removal portfolio supporting our broader goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030.”

Carbon credits, also called carbon offsets, allow owners to emit a certain amount of CO2 or another greenhouse gas (GHG). Each credit permits one ton of CO2, or other GHG, to be emitted.

STRATOS is scheduled to start up in mid-2025. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to capture up to 500,000 mt of CO2 annually, 1PointFive said.

“A commitment of this magnitude further demonstrates how one of the world’s largest corporations is integrating scalable Direct Air Capture into its net zero strategy,” said Michael Avery, president and general manager of 1PointFive. “Energy demand across the technology industry is increasing and we believe Direct Air Capture is uniquely suited to remove residual emissions and further climate goals.”

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