Microsoft taps Alt Carbon for first Asia ERW deal, targeting 36,920 tons of CO₂ removal
Alt Carbon has secured a multi-year agreement with Microsoft to remove up to 36,920 metric ...
Microsoft taps Alt Carbon for first Asia ERW deal, targeting 36,920 tons of CO₂ removal
Alt Carbon has secured a multi-year agreement with Microsoft to remove up to 36,920 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂), marking the technology giant’s first carbon credit purchase in Asia generated through Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW).
Under the deal, Microsoft will receive verified carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits from Alt Carbon’s Darjeeling Revival Project, an initiative focused on revitalizing Darjeeling’s tea estates and surrounding agricultural networks while scaling carbon removal across the region.
Alt Carbon has enrolled more than 80,000 acres of agricultural land in West Bengal, working with over 35,000 farmers across more than 60 gram panchayats. The project has also created more than 250 green jobs spanning field operations, logistics, and laboratory monitoring.
Scaling carbon removal through enhanced rock weathering:
The company generates carbon credits using Enhanced Rock Weathering, a process that involves spreading waste basalt rock across farmland. The basalt reacts with carbon dioxide dissolved in rainwater, converting it into stable bicarbonate ions that eventually reach the ocean and are stored as calcium carbonate in corals and seashells for more than 1,000 years.
Beyond carbon removal, the Darjeeling Revival Project aims to strengthen agricultural resilience by improving soil health, balancing pH levels, and increasing crop productivity.
Alt Carbon has issued 9,566 carbon credits through Isometric to date, positioning itself among a limited number of developers delivering verified carbon removal credits at scale.
Expanding Scientific and Verification Capacity
To support future growth, Alt Carbon has established Earth Sciences laboratories across India. Shonku Labs, based at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, serves as the company’s core research and development hub, while the Darjeeling Climate Action Lab (D-CAL), located at Kamala Tea Estate, provides laboratory processing capabilities.
The company’s laboratory and field monitoring systems are used to quantify carbon fluxes, track soil chemistry changes, monitor environmental safeguards, and generate soil and river datasets. D-CAL is expected to process up to 100,000 samples annually by 2026. Alt Carbon has analyzed and processed more than 20,000 samples so far.
Deal Supports Further Research and Deployment
In addition to delivering verified carbon removal credits, Alt Carbon plans to expand field trials, conduct deep soil and porewater monitoring, collect crop uptake measurements, and share data publicly to advance scientific understanding of Enhanced Rock Weathering in tropical agricultural systems.
The agreement also provides Microsoft with the option to purchase additional carbon removal volumes from Alt Carbon, subject to successful delivery and verification milestones, supporting future ERW deployments and biochar projects across India.
“Alt Carbon is dedicated to undertaking frontier research to map out our planet. Our deal with Microsoft is built upon years of work building high-integrity carbon removal infrastructure in India,” said Shrey Agarwal, CEO and Co-founder of Alt Carbon.
Sparsh Agarwal, President and Co-founder of Alt Carbon, said Enhanced Rock Weathering is emerging as a scalable carbon removal pathway globally and could play a significant role in expanding carbon removal capacity across the Global South.
Phil Goodman, Program Director, Carbon Removal, Microsoft, said the agreement leverages field deployments and multiple carbon quantification methods while maintaining environmental safeguards, adding that Microsoft is encouraged by Alt Carbon’s track record in delivering carbon credits and building durable carbon removal capacity in India.
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