Stockholm Exergi extends landmark carbon removal agreement with Microsoft
Stockholm Exergi today announced that it has signed a contract with Microsoft extending the already existing ten-year agreement of 3.33 million tonnes to 5.08 million tonnes of permanent carbon removals from Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at Värtan, Stockholm. At 500,000 tonnes annually, the extended contract represents the world’s largest agreement for permanent removals on a yearly basis.
– The extension of our existing agreement with Microsoft is a huge vote of confidence in our BECCS project and Stockholm Exergi’s ability to deliver sustainable permanent removals. It is also a strong validation that climate frontrunners on the voluntary carbon market continue to stay focused on mitigating climate change and contribute to getting the removals industry off the ground, says Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi.
– Stockholm Exergi is executing against a bold vision to deploy new carbon removal technologies towards climate action. We are pleased to announce this expanded offtake, which in turn reflects our progress to meeting ambitious 2030 Carbon Negative goals, says Brian Marrs, Senior Director, Energy & Carbon Removal.
As confirmed in the agreement with Microsoft Stockholm Exergi will deliver carbon removal certificates following strict quality requirements. This includes criteria for sustainable sourcing of forest biomass developed together with Microsoft, conservative quantification of net removals and comprehensive monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV).
In line with the policy of the Swedish government, the carbon removals exchanged in this agreement will be used by Microsoft to negate its own emissions and will be transparently reported as fitting under Sweden’s climate targets, similarly to how corporate emission reductions contribute to national climate targets.
The significance of the agreement and the build-out of the industry is underlined by recent developments where both the voluntary market and nations have started in earnest to embrace the need to deploy permanent removals to reach interim and net-zero targets. This need for removals is currently being translated into action both within voluntary standards as well as in the upcoming EU 2040 climate target.
About the BECCS-facility
When in operation, Stockholm Exergi’s (BECCS) plant will permanently remove up to 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere per year. The project recently took its final investment decision and construction has already started, with the goal of having the facility operational in 2028. Transport and permanent storage are acquired as a service from Northern Lights. Beccs Stockholm is made possible through a combination of funding from the EU Innovation Fund, Swedish government aid and revenue from the private market.
About Stockholm Exergi
Stockholm Exergi is the energy company for the people of Stockholm. Through resource-efficient solutions, we secure the growing region’s access to heating, electricity, cooling, and waste services. We provide heat to over 800,000 Stockholm residents, and our 3,000 km district heating network is the backbone of the societal value we create in close cooperation with customers and partners. Through Beccs Stockholm, we are driving the realisation of permanent negative emissions. We are owned by the City of Stockholm and Ankhiale, a consortium of leading European pension funds (APG, PGGM, Alecta, Keva and AXA IM Alts), and have over 800 employees working every day to reduce Stockholm’s climate impact.
The post Stockholm Exergi extends landmark carbon removal agreement with Microsoft first appeared on Informed Infrastructure.
Stockholm Exergi today announced that it has signed a contract with Microsoft extending the already existing ten-year agreement of 3.33 million tonnes to 5.08 million tonnes of permanent carbon removals from Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) at Värtan, Stockholm. At 500,000 tonnes annually, the extended contract represents the world’s largest agreement for permanent…