A group of major tech companies including Anthropic, Google, Salesforce, and Stripe have committed $915 million through the Frontier buying group to purchase carbon removal credits. This new funding builds on a previous $1 billion pledge and aims to scale technologies like direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering, and bio-energy with carbon capture and storage. The move comes as the carbon removal market has grown to roughly $12 billion in total credit sales, though concerns remain about reliance on a small number of large buyers like Microsoft. Frontier says it will focus on technologies that can scale fastest and potentially attract government support. Examples include Crew Carbon, which adds limestone to wastewater treatment to capture carbon, and ocean alkalinity methods. The group hopes that compliance markets, especially in the European Union, will eventually broaden the buyer base beyond tech companies, reducing the market's fragility from depending on just a few major purchasers.
