Microsoft Backs Terradot’s Carbon Removal in Brazil

In a big move towards realizing its ambitious climate targets, Microsoft has partnered with Terradot, an augmented rock weathering (ERW) company, to buy 12,000 tons of carbon removal from 2026 to 2029. The transaction not only buys carbon removal credits but also covers funding for studies of the environmental effects and measurement capacities of ERW, placing the collaboration as a major milestone in the pursuit of scalable, science-informed carbon removal technologies.

Terradot, which was established in 2022, has become a leader in the carbon removal industry by tapping into the natural process of rock weathering—a geological process by which CO2 is trapped from rainwater and chemically fixed into rock formations over thousands or millions of years. The startup speeds up this process by grinding basalt rock and broadcasting it over huge farmlands, enabling the CO2 in rain to engage with the tiny rock particles and trap carbon in the soil. In addition to carbon capture, this method also has the promise of enhancing soil health and increasing agricultural yields.

The existing deal is targeted at Terradot's operations in Brazil, where the firm is setting its operational hub. Brazil presents a most favorable condition for ERW, with its tropical soils, robust agricultural industry, and clean energy matrix with 93 percent of its electricity generated through renewable sources. Terradot anticipates commencing the provision of the initial carbon removal credits from such projects by late 2025.

This partnership is another milestone for Terradot after its successful funding round late in 2024, raising more than $58 million. The startup had also earlier won long-term carbon removal contracts worth 300,000 tonnes with corporate titans like Google and Frontier, cementing its position in the rising market for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.

Speaking regarding the collaboration, Terradot CEO James Kanoff highlighted the strategic value of the deal with Microsoft. "This partnership with Microsoft is an important step along the path in our mission to make Enhanced Rock Weathering a pillar of the world's carbon removal efforts," Kanoff explained. He also noted that the involvement of Microsoft extends beyond carbon credit purchases because the technology leader is also making an investment in rigorous scientific work to enhance ERW measurement, reporting, and verification accuracy.

One of the key objectives of the partnership is to establish scientific confidence in ERW as a viable and scalable carbon removal technology. The research program supported under this agreement will develop cost-effective and scalable monitoring systems that will be essential for future deployments of the technology. Terradot has indicated that its scientific monitoring will surpass existing carbon registry protocols. The study will incorporate increased sampling densities, sophisticated monitoring of watersheds and water systems, and enhanced analysis of carbon cycles. The results will assist in streamlining the models that assess ERW's efficacy and safety, possibly leading to broader implementation.

Microsoft's involvement in this undertaking is one part of its more general climate mission to become carbon negative by the year 2030—a strategy that involves not only cutting down on emissions, but actually extracting CO2 from the air. The firm has been investing across a spectrum of CDR solutions, such as other ERW collaborations like that announced in September 2024. The acquisition of Terradot is particularly indicative of the focus by Microsoft on exploring bleeding-edge methodologies and advancing the science required to go large with such solutions responsibly.

Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft, emphasized the double dividend of ERW technology. This transaction moves Microsoft's interest in investigating under what circumstances Enhanced Rock Weathering can become a cost-effective, scalable source of high-quality carbon removal safely," said Marrs. He noted that healthier soils—not only through conventional conservation methods but also through the incorporation of alkaline rocks such as basalt—could provide real benefits to farmers, further aligning climate solutions with farm productivity.".

As the international climate crisis deepens, the world's demand for creative, nature-based solutions such as intensified rock weathering is growing more imperative by the day. The Microsoft-Terradot collaboration has the potential to influence the future of carbon removal technology by establishing new standards for scientific excellence, operational scale, and co-benefits to ecosystems and communities. Both companies are wagering in this collaboration on a future where climate mitigation and sustainable agriculture go hand in hand.