Amrith Ramkumar of The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft will use carbon-absorbing rocks to meet its climate goals.
- Microsoft will buy carbon credits from Heirloom Carbon for the removal of up to 315,000 metric tons of CO2 over 10 years, which is equivalent to removing 70,000 cars from the road.
- Heirloom accelerates the natural carbon sequestration of limestone so that it takes days to remove CO2 rather than years.
- The process, which is powered by renewable energy, involves crushing limestone and heating it up to form a powder that essentially becomes a carbon sponge.
- While technological advancements like these are impressive, companies must monitor and verify their carbon offsets to ensure that they are effectively removing CO2.
“That powder is then combined with water to become calcium hydroxide and spread onto trays the size of large desks or picnic blankets. Outside, the calcium hydroxide puffs up like a cookie in the oven as it absorbs carbon dioxide over about three days. The resulting limestone can go back into the kiln to restart the cycle.”
Read the full article here.
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