Frontier: Stripe, Google, Shopify, H&M & More Invest in CDR

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that the increase of CO₂ in the atmosphere has warmed the surface temperature of the ocean, making waters become more acidic and lower in oxygen, causing changes in marine food webs and other associated climate impacts. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change considers direct air capture to be a necessary component of successful strategies for limiting global warming.

With the support of key members including Stripe, Google, Shopify, H&M and several more, the Frontier Climate coalition is working to help.

The advanced market commitment aims to find new technologies in carbon capture (CDR) and invest in them, accelerating the development to help reach the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

“Between five and 10 billion tons of carbon will need to be removed from the atmosphere annually by mid-century, so how do we possibly build an industry of that scale from the ground up?" asks Robert Little Sustainability Strategy Lead, Google.

“I believe strategic, collaborative action is a good starting point in today's world. 

“The recent news from the Frontier coalition, which Google is proud to be a part of alongside partners like Stripe and Shopify, is a perfect example of this "catalytic capital" in action. 

“By pre-purchasing credits, we provide early-stage companies with the guaranteed revenue they need to scale, secure financing, and prove their commercial viability. 

“This approach de-risks the path for breakthrough climate solutions that are still on the learning curve.

“This is the kind of deliberate, solutions-oriented strategy that fosters the innovation ecosystem we desperately need.”

What is Frontier doing?

Frontier’s primary aim is to accelerate the development of permanent (CDR) technologies. 

Working with a group of scientific experts the organisation evaluates and invests in promising carbon removal technologies.

Frontier has pledged to buy CDR from suppliers between 2022 and 2030.

It believes by providing large early-stage purchases it is encouraging researchers, entrepreneurs and investors to participate in the building of new carbon solutions.

The organisation funds a portfolio of projects in order to maximise the discovering scalable solutions:

• Direct Air Capture
• Biomass carbon removal and storage 
• Mineralisation
• Field weathering
• Direct ocean removal 
• Ocean alkalinity enhancement 

Nan Ransohoff, Head of Climate at Stripe said in Frontier's annual statement: “Our goal at Frontier is to get carbon removal on its best possible trajectory.

“Of course, the primary way we do that is by purchasing carbon removal, typically via offtake agreements. 

“In 2024 we signed a record number of offtakes, totaling US$279m (up from US$166m in 2023), across seven outstanding companies that represent four distinct carbon removal pathways.

“Carbon removal has made huge progress over the last year and there’s still a very long way to go. 

“Without early buyers, this progress wouldn’t have been, or be, possible. 

“We’re tremendously thankful for your partnership and excited to keep building the field together.

Frontier’s most recent agreement

The most recent agreement made by frontier and its coalition of buyers (Stipe, Google, Meta etc) is a US$41m offtake contract with Arbor.

Arbor is a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage company that converts low grade biomass into clean energy, capturing and storing the resulting emissions. 

Frontier Climate is paying millions under the agreement that Arbor will remove 116,000 tons of durable CO₂ in two years.

The project has a dual benefit of capturing 99% CO₂ emissions, whilst producing clean electricity.

Brad Hartwig, CEO, Arbor says, “Carbon removal approaches that deliver both net removal and decarbonisation benefits will scale quickly. 

“That’s what sets Arbor’s approach apart. 

“This offtake agreement with Frontier buyers accelerates a model that removes carbon while generating the reliable, zero-emission energy our power grid needs.”

What does NOAA think about carbon removal?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) believes that one of the main challenges of carbon dioxide removal is achieving a large scale under time constraints with minimal impact on the environment and marine habitats.

The organisation says that it is imperative that carbon reservoirs are sustainable over long periods with minimal possibility for leakage back into the atmosphere.

It believes that CDR has many benefits including potential mitigation of ocean acidification and improvements to coastal wetlands, forests and soils. In turn promoting biodiversity, environmental sustainability and crop/food production.

NOAA is concerned that the effects of CDR on ocean ecosystems are not fully understood yet, but could include depletion of subsurface oxygen, changes in the ocean’s biochemistry and habitat, shifts in marine food webs and other consequences to ocean life.