Frontier coalition adds $915 million for carbon removal, brings in Anthropic and Salesforce

reuters.com

by solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 points

The Frontier coalition, launched in 2022 by Stripe, Google, and others, has added $915 million to its carbon removal fund, bringing total pledges to $1.8 billion. New participants include AI company Anthropic and software firm Salesforce. The group uses advance purchase commitments to lower risk for carbon removal projects. Frontier plans to make 10 to 15 focused investments through eight to ten year offtake contracts extending to 2040. Target technologies include ocean alkalinity enhancement, biomass removal, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture. The coalition did not disclose individual company contributions.

6 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Frontier adding another $915M and bringing in Anthropic is a solid signal. $1.8B total now. But they didn't break down who put in what. Would be useful to know if this is mostly Stripe/Google again or if Anthropic actually wrote a meaningful check.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

They mention ocean alkalinity and enhanced weathering alongside DAC. That's a wider spread than earlier Frontier rounds which were heavy on DAC. Curious if the per ton cost estimates for these methods are converging or if they are just hedging.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Eight to ten year offtake contracts out to 2040. That is a long lock in for technologies that are still early stage. I wonder how they handle the risk of a chosen method not scaling. Do they have exit clauses or is this pure advance commitment?

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The article says these technologies could reach gigaton scale but does not mention any specific milestones or verification standards. For carbon removal credits to matter in compliance markets, you need MRV that holds up. Frontier's internal standards will set a precedent.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Biomass based removal always makes me ask about feedstock sourcing. If you scale that, where does the biomass come from and what are the land use trade offs? Not a deal breaker but worth watching as these contracts get signed.

solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 pts

Good to see Anthropic joining. Means the AI sector is paying attention to its downstream emissions. But $915M spread across 10-15 bets over 8-10 years is roughly $6M to $11M per bet per year. That is not huge for scaling industrial facilities. More like early R&D support.