Microsoft has signed a three-year agreement to buy nearly 37,000 tons of carbon removal credits from Indian startup Alt Carbon, marking the tech giant’s first enhanced-rock weathering deal in Asia.
Under the agreement, Alt Carbon will deliver 36,920 metric tons of carbon dioxide removal credits by 2029 from its Darjeeling Revival Project in eastern India. Microsoft also has an option to purchase additional volumes if the startup meets delivery and verification milestones.
The deal follows reports that suggested Microsoft —
the world’s largest buyer of carbon-removal credits — had paused parts of its carbon-removal procurement program. The company rejected those claims, saying it remained committed to its climate goals even as it refined its sustainability strategy.
The agreement is a potential boon for Alt Carbon, a Bengaluru-based startup founded in 2023 that is focused on carbon removal projects, including enhanced rock weathering. This technique involves spreading crushed basalt and other silicate rocks on farmland to speed up natural chemical reactions that help store carbon dioxide. Alt Carbon sources basalt from the Rajmahal Traps in eastern India and deploys it across farmland in West Bengal, where the rock reacts with rainwater and atmospheric carbon dioxide to form stable bicarbonates.
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