CO280 Strikes Deal with Microsoft to Remove 3.69 Million Tonnes of CO₂

In a deal that signals a turning point for engineered carbon removal, CO280, a trailblazer in large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR), has inked a landmark offtake agreement with Microsoft. The tech giant will purchase 3.685 million tonnes of CDR over 12 years, which places this among the most ambitious CDR commitments ever recorded.

But this isn’t just another corporate climate pledge. The carbon to be captured and stored will come from biogenic emissions—specifically from a U.S. pulp and paper mill—where CO280 will retrofit existing infrastructure to trap CO₂ from boiler stack emissions and permanently store it underground.

SLB Capturi, a key partner in CO280’s push toward scalable, verifiable carbon removal, will provide the capture tech for this initiative. And this is no one-off project. CO280 has more than 10 CDR initiatives in development, with five already prioritized to go live before 2030.

"The agreement with Microsoft is a significant milestone for CO280 and the CDR market," stated Jonathan Rhone, co-founder and CEO of CO280. "CO280 is committed to delivering the highest quality, permanent carbon dioxide removal while supporting the economic and environmental health of the communities we serve. We're incredibly grateful to Microsoft for their collaboration, leadership, and commitment to CDR excellence."

Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft, stated, "Microsoft is pleased to announce this deal with the team at CO280, which has proven how to combine innovative engineering with strong commercial development towards creating affordable and scalable carbon removal solutions. The CO280 strategy of adding carbon removal to existing paper mills is an efficient way to quickly scale carbon removal and bolster investment and jobs into timberland communities across the United States."

Rather than building from scratch, CO280 is tapping into something already widespread and deeply embedded in the American industrial landscape: the pulp and paper industry. These mills, essential to producing packaging and hygiene products, also emit around 88 million tonnes of biogenic CO₂ annually—a massive, largely untapped opportunity.

CO280’s strategy is refreshingly pragmatic. The company avoids the complications of greenfield projects by retrofitting mills with carbon capture systems. It minimizes cost, reduces complexity, and lowers risk. And because the biomass supply chains and heat systems are already in place, scaling becomes a repeatable, almost modular exercise. This isn’t a theory. It’s execution.

Key to CO280’s approach is responsible biomass sourcing. The industry already operates under high sustainability standards:

• 97% of wood goes to mills with Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification.

• 90% goes to facilities certified by SFI and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

• Many mills rely solely on residual biomass or recycled pulp—waste products turned into value.

And what about energy? CO280 plans to power its capture systems using on-site waste heat and excess biomass. It’s an elegant solution: environmentally efficient and economically innovative.

Then there’s storage. With 75% of U.S. pulp and paper mills within 100 miles of suitable geological storage, the captured CO₂ doesn’t have to travel far. An expanding network of CO₂ transport and sequestration providers ensures safe, permanent removal—right beneath our feet.

This isn’t just about climate math. It’s about people—jobs, communities, and stability. By anchoring its CDR projects in American mill towns, CO280 injects capital, innovation, and long-term employment into places that have long sustained the nation’s supply chains but have too often been left behind in clean energy conversations.

This agreement with Microsoft does more than guarantee carbon removal—it unlocks billions in potential investment for local economies. It offers a blueprint for how climate solutions can fuel economic resilience while cleaning the air.

About CO280:

CO280 Solutions Inc. develops, finances, owns, and operates large-scale, high-integrity carbon removal projects. In partnership with pulp and paper mills and forward-leaning CDR buyers, the company is rewriting the rules of permanent, verifiable, and cost-effective climate action—turning industrial byproducts into global carbon solutions.