The technique that Microsoft has opted for to become carbon negative by 2030, a technique that will surprise you.
Microsoft is very committed to the climate objectives that it has proposed, not only from within the company but also with the different international agreements, and wants to take a step forward by betting on a technique capable of eliminating carbon more efficiently.
However, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has reached an agreement with the startup Heirloom Carbonfamous for having created a process capable of using limestone to capture carbon.
It is known that limestone is capable of absorbing carbon naturally for many years, but the startup’s process accelerates it as much as possible.
To do this, they use a furnace powered by renewable energy to heat this limestone, which is previously crushed, and heat it to 900 °C. Thanks to this temperature, carbon dioxide and calcium oxide can be separated.
They then add water to the calcium oxide, allowing it to absorb large amounts of carbon in just a few days, and then reinsert it into the oven to restart the cycle. The startup then permanently buries the separated carbon underground.
Microsoft intends to become carbon negative by 2030, yet they have also set a goal of eliminating all carbon emitted since their founding in 1975 by 2050.
Then there are other more well-known, but really expensive, carbon removal methods that involve massive machines capable of sucking carbon out of the atmosphere.
Microsoft has previously looked at other solutions to become carbon negative, yet they partnered with ocean restoration company Running Tide, which is able to use algae and limestone to trap CO2 in the ocean.