Microsoft has reached a deal to purchase 1.24 million tons of carbon removal credits from Exomad Green, in the largest biochar removal agreement to date.

The ten-year deal will see the tech giant purchase removal credits generated from Exomad's biochar operations in Concepción and Riberalta, Bolivia. The two facilities have three biochar production reactors each, which can remove up to 60,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The company specializes in the transformation of forestry residues into biochar through pyrolysis. According to the company, its process ensures long-term carbon sequestration and promotes sustainable agricultural practices.

So far, the company has removed more than 120,000 tons of CO2, verified by the carbon removal registry Puro Earth. Construction is underway on a third facility in Bolivia, towards a goal of sequestering more than one megaton of CO2 annually.

“Microsoft is pleased to build on our relationship with Exomad Green and Carbonfuture to deliver high-quality, high-impact, and high-integrity durable CDR through biochar,” said Brian Marrs, senior director of energy and carbon removal at Microsoft. “We value Exomad Green’s commitment to high standards for biomass sustainability and traceability through its establishment of a new Forest Monitoring Center and recognize biochar’s significant co-benefits for community and soil quality in addition to its carbon removal potential.”

In addition to the carbon removal purchase, the agreement includes a contractual integration of Carbonfuture MRV+. Carbonfuture is an independent digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification system for durable carbon removal. In integrating the system, the companies aim to ensure that every ton of CO2 that is removed can be tracked across its entire lifecycle.

“This agreement sets a new precedent for how quality is built into carbon removal from day one,” said Hannes Junginger-Gestrich, CEO of Carbonfuture. “By embedding dMRV into the contract, this deal delivers the transparency and traceability the market needs as it scales toward megatonnes of impact.”

The agreement will support biomass sourcing traceability through a dedicated Forest Monitoring Center, which can trace the origin of all biomass. In addition, the agreement will allow for regular quality testing, which will ensure that the biomass produced meets high international standards, in order to improve its value within the carbon removal market.

The deal builds on a previous agreement between Microsoft and Exomad. In December 2023, Microsoft announced a purchase of 32,000 tons of CO2 removal credits, which commenced delivery in June of last year.

Microsoft has signed a number of biochar removal deals over recent years. For example, in April, it inked a five-year deal with Carba to purchase 44,000 tons of credits.