Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it has signed a decade-long agreement with Canadian firm Arca to purchase nearly 300,000 tonnes of durable carbon dioxide removals, marking one of its largest investments in industrial carbon mineralization to date.
Under the deal, Arca will use industrial byproducts such as mine tailings and waste rock to capture and permanently store atmospheric carbon dioxide. The process converts CO₂ into stable carbonate minerals, locking it away for millennia.
Arca said the partnership with Microsoft validates industrial mineralization as a scalable pathway for long-term carbon removal.
“This agreement confirms that industrial mineralization can meaningfully contribute to global climate goals,” said Paul Needham, Arca’s chief executive.
Microsoft’s director of carbon dioxide removal, Phil Goodman, said the deal expands the company’s carbon removal portfolio with a “pathway that combines scalability and permanence.”
He added that Arca’s proven demonstration projects gave Microsoft confidence in the long-term agreement.
Backed by Canadian Innovation
Canadian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson called the deal an example of how Canada’s innovation ecosystem can drive global climate leadership.
“The next generation of clean growth will be built by companies like Arca,” Hodgson said. “These technologies not only help us tackle climate change but also create good jobs and strengthen Canada’s low-carbon economy.”
Arca completed its first full-scale mineralization demonstration at an active mine site earlier this year. The company said Microsoft’s long-term commitment would accelerate its efforts to scale from pilot operations to million-tonne projects.
“Arca was built on two decades of research and collaboration with more than 30 mining partners worldwide,” said Greg Dipple, the firm’s co-founder and head of science.
Why Industrial Mineralization Matters
Industrial mineralization offers several advantages, according to Arca. It repurposes abundant industrial byproducts already at the Earth’s surface, integrates easily with existing industrial operations, and has minimal land or water demands.
The process also provides robust, measurable carbon storage for thousands of years and reduces environmental risks from mining waste.
“By using one form of waste to neutralize another, we create less waste and a healthier environment,” Needham said.
Founded in Canada, Arca specializes in engineered mineralization technologies that accelerate natural weathering processes.
The company works with mining and steel partners globally to repurpose alkaline materials and track every step of carbon removal for transparent third-party verification.
The Microsoft deal marks a major step toward Arca’s goal of achieving gigatonne-scale carbon removal through industrial mineralization.
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