UNDO Signs Follow-On Enhanced Rock Weathering Carbon Removal Deal with Microsoft

UNDO has signed a follow-on deal with Microsoft. The award will permanently remove 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and fund crucial scientific research in the enhanced rock weathering (ERW) field. It will also contribute to Microsoft’s commitment to be carbon-negative by 2030. 

A Continuation of the UNDO-Microsoft Relationship

UNDO’s commercial relationship with Microsoft began in 2023 with a contract to remove 5,000 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere by spreading 25,000 tonnes of basalt in the UK. This was the first-ever ERW purchase for the tech giant. Today’s announcement reflects a much larger deal that will see UNDO spread 65,000 tonnes of crushed silicate rock across the United Kingdom (40,000 tonnes of basalt) and Canada (25,000 tonnes of wollastonite).

“Microsoft is committed to being carbon-negative by 2030. We are excited to support UNDO’s enhanced rock weathering carbon removal projects with co-benefits for soils, farmers, and rural communities. With this follow-on deal, we look forward to working with the UNDO team who will pioneer further deep science across different measurement techniques and at varying scales to deliver crucial ERW process data.”

Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy Markets at Microsoft

What is Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW)?

So how do certain types of rocks naturally capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and how does crushing them into a fine powder speed up this process?

For millions of years, CO₂ has combined with rainwater to form carbonic acid. When this dilute acid falls on mountains, forests and grassland, the CO₂ interacts with rocks and soil, mineralises and is safely stored as solid carbon for hundreds of thousands of years. This interaction with rocks and soil is known as weathering. 

Enhanced rock weathering dramatically accelerates the natural rock weathering process to permanently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. When silicate rock, such as basalt or wollastonite, is crushed and spread on agricultural land, rainwater containing CO₂ reacts with it. (The increased surface area of the rock powder means that the timeline for carbon sequestration is compressed to human timescales.) The chemical reaction demonstrated with basaltic feldspar below, locks up CO₂ as bicarbonate for 100,000+ years.

But why spread it on agricultural land?

As the mineral-rich volcanic rock breaks down, it releases essential nutrients like magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus, which support healthier crops, stabilise soil pH and reduce the reliance on fertilisers. By bringing these co-benefits to local rural communities, we are providing free soil amendments to farmers already dealing with thin margins,  sourcing green jobs and reinforcing the food systems that sustain us.

Essential Translation:

Pushing the ERW Science Forward

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that to avoid the worst effects of climate change, humanity needs to be actively removing at least 10 billion tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year by 2050. ERW, if scaled, can remove 4 billion tonnes of CO2 on an annual basis, meeting 40% of this climate target. 

The Microsoft deal represents a groundbreaking contribution to UNDO’s scientific research concerning the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of ERW-based carbon dioxide removal. With the funding, UNDO will set up field trials and monitoring sites in Ontario, including one on a research farm owned by the University of Guelph, and at UNDO’s principal laboratory for operations at Queen’s University in Kingston. UNDO will also set up exciting new field trials and monitoring sites in the UK, including one on a research farm owned by Newcastle University. 

Noah Planavsky, Yale Institute of Natural Carbon Capture, who consulted on the scope of the scientific trials being funded by the deal, commented:

“Enhanced rock weathering has tremendous potential as a promising and scalable carbon removal method. Large-scale projects like this one that put monitoring and transparency first are essential for demonstrating that we can accurately and reliably track carbon removal in open systems.”

Noah Planavsky, Yale Institute of Natural Carbon Capture

 

To reach a global scale, ERW must first prove itself as a reliable, measurable form of permanent carbon dioxide removal. To achieve this, more deals like the one UNDO has entered into with Microsoft are crucial. These deals fund deep science and MRV in the field. Because time is of the essence in the fight against climate change, UNDO has strategically chosen mining partner Canadian Wollastonite for its fast-weathering feedstock of wollastonite. With its relatively rapid rate of breaking down, we will be able to gather more data faster and better understand the elements to optimise the ERW process.

“This agreement with Microsoft is a clear signal to the market that enhanced rock weathering has potential to deliver scalable carbon removal, and that UNDO can deliver critical scientific research to instil more confidence in this vital climate tech. We are eager to continue our work advancing the science of enhanced rock weathering by scaling up our research and data-gathering capabilities, which will be greatly facilitated by Microsoft’s continued backing.”

Jim Mann, CEO and Founder of UNDO

Canada as UNDO’s Next Operational Hub

As Canada is poised to become one of the world’s strategic hubs for carbon removal, UNDO plans to continue to build out its North American operations there. In 2021, the Government of Canada announced its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The country has developed major political, business and financial backing for carbon removal and has attracted more than 70 carbon dioxide removal (CDR) companies around the country.

“The partnership with UNDO is synergistic. Canadian Wollastonite will focus on producing a low-carbon mineral for enhanced rock weathering, while UNDO provides the technology to measure and verify carbon captured from the atmosphere.”

Bob Vasily, President of Canadian Wollastonite

Through deals like Microsoft, UNDO is looking forward to building out its footprint in Canadian rural communities. By providing our crushed rock to farmers free of charge, our solution is supporting a sector that is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. With current operations in Southeast Ontario, UNDO plans to expand into Québec via a range of operational commercial partnerships that will enable the spreading of millions of tonnes of silicate rock each year, a first step towards billion-tonne scale operations.

Advance Carbon Solutions

Be part of the next step in carbon removal. Discover how UNDO is scaling enhanced rock weathering to meet global climate goals.

Speak to our team