Microsoft [MSFT:US] signed a two-year agreement with US-based ocean health company Running Tide to remove 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02e), as reported by ESG Today on March 10. Running Tide is designing and implementing an ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) system that uses natural processes such as photosynthesis and ocean alkalinity enhancement to capture carbon from the fast carbon cycle (involving the atmosphere and biosphere). Afterward, it uses low-energy mass transfer techniques to transfer CO2 to the slow carbon cycle in the deep ocean, where geologic processes allow the gas to be stored for longer periods. Microsoft declined to disclose the value of the deal, but Running Tide revealed the deal is worth “single-digit millions “. Besides Microsoft, Running Tide also received investments from Shopify [SHOP:US] and Stripe in the past. 

The ocean-based CDR scheme aligns with Microsoft’s challenging climate target of reaching carbon negative by 2030 and eliminating all its historical emissions by 2050.The collaboration between the two parties also involves innovating to ensure effective measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV), which would facilitate the development of the ocean-based CDR market that is still in the initial stage. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), CDR is crucial to humankind, and the world needs to be prepared to remove up to 10bn tons of carbon into permanent storage every year to limit the rise in global temperature to below 1.5°C. 

Sources:

https://www.esgtoday.com/microsoft-signs-its-first-ocean-based-carbon-removal-agreement/

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-pays-running-tide-to-remove-12000-tons-of-co2-by-sinking-biomass-into-the-ocean/

https://carbonherald.com/running-tide-to-provide-ocean-based-carbon-removal-for-microsoft/gfukgfj