Published by Todd Bush on April 3, 2025
Deal with Microsoft enables science research at Terradot project site in Brazil
SAN FRANCISCO – Terradot, a leader in Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) technology, today announced an agreement with Microsoft to remove 12,000 tonnes of CO₂ from Earth’s atmosphere between 2026 and 2029. The deal is notable in that it will provide funding for Terradot to conduct the most comprehensive scientific monitoring ever implemented at a commercial ERW site – above and beyond what is currently required by registries for the crediting of ERW removals. With Microsoft’s offtake, Terradot has already begun implementing this research protocol in Brazil, where the company is expanding its commercial operations and expects to generate its first carbon removal credits later this year.
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The deal with Microsoft follows Terradot’s $54 million Series A funding round, with participation from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, and the nearly 300,000 tonnes of carbon removal agreements secured in late 2024 with Google and Frontier.
James Kanoff, CEO of Terradot, said, "This agreement with Microsoft represents a critical step forward in our mission to transform Enhanced Rock Weathering into a cornerstone of global carbon removal efforts. Beyond purchasing carbon removal credits, Microsoft is investing in the scientific research needed to build confidence in ERW and dramatically improve the accuracy of measurement, reporting, and verification."
Brian Marrs, Senior Director, Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft, added, “This deal advances Microsoft’s interest in exploring under what conditions Enhanced Rock Weathering can safely become a cost-effective, scalable source of high-quality carbon removal. Improving soils – both through conservation practices and addition of alkaline rocks – has the potential to deliver real benefits to farmers in addition to the climate.”
The Microsoft-supported research program has two primary goals: to build scientific confidence in ERW as a trusted carbon removal method, and to develop a more scalable, cost-effective measurement approach for future deployments.
While current registry protocols provide a foundation for ERW verification, Terradot's expanded scientific monitoring goes significantly beyond these requirements to answer fundamental questions about how ERW truly impacts natural systems, via enhanced sampling density, as well as advanced water system and watershed monitoring. This increased monitoring will improve the carbon cycle analysis and advance the models used in ERW validation.
Professor Scott Fendorf of Stanford University and a founding member of Terradot's science team, said, "The research we're conducting will serve two critical functions. First, it will build trust and confidence in ERW measurement, reporting, and verification – not just for Terradot but for the industry as a whole – giving buyers even more confidence that ERW can meet urgent carbon removal needs. Second, the data will enable Terradot to develop incredibly low-cost MRV approaches that will allow us to scale to meet the growing customer demand created by increased confidence in ERW as a gold standard of carbon removal. It’s a win-win.”
With over 300,000 tonnes in carbon removal deals secured to date, Terradot is quickly expanding its commercial operations in Brazil. To date, the company has spread nearly 50,000 tonnes of rock across 2,000 hectares of land.
The rock used is mined at quarries that are located within 50 kms of the project sites. This close proximity of rock quarries to farmland across Brazil reduces the complexity and cost of project development and deployment. Additionally, Brazil’s tropical soils and wet, warm climate, which speed up the weathering process, make it one of the most ideal places in the world to scale ERW.
Terradot’s projects in Brazil will deliver their first carbon removal credits in late 2025.
Julia Marisa Sekula, Terradot's Chief Financial Officer and Director of Brazil Operations, said, "Brazil's unique combination of tropical soils, clean electricity grid, and agricultural infrastructure makes it an ideal location for scaling ERW. Our projects in Brazil demonstrate how strategic deployment—with rock quarries located within 50 kilometers of farmland—creates both operational efficiency and scientific opportunity. By integrating carbon removal with agricultural benefits like improved soil pH and enhanced micronutrients, we're building a model that delivers value to farmers while advancing a global climate solution that can be deployed at gigaton scale."
Terradot is a climate company uniting global leaders in science, technology, and climate to scale Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) as a cornerstone of global carbon removal efforts. Founded in 2022 at Stanford University, Terradot has raised $58.2 million in funding and secured agreements to remove over 300,000 tonnes of CO₂ from Earth's atmosphere. Terradot is establishing operations across Brazil, leveraging the country's ideal tropical conditions, agricultural strength, and clean energy matrix to deliver cost-effective carbon removal.
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