This deal is a key component of its carbon removal strategy, designed to offset emissions from its energy-intensive AI data centers. The Redmond-based tech giant has established a 12-year partnership with Vaulted Deep, a US-based startup, with the aim of removing 4.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by injecting organic waste deep underground, at a depth of 5,000 feet.
Why Microsoft is buying human waste?
This partnership is a response to Microsoft's urgent need for innovative solutions as its AI operations significantly increase energy consumption and carbon emissions. From 2020 to 2024, the company emitted 75.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent, with its AI infrastructure contributing heavily to the recent rise. Based on current market rates of USD 350 per ton for carbon removal, the agreement represents a major investment in waste-to-carbon technology, as reported by the WSJ.
Vaulted Deep gathers what it terms "bioslurry" from sewage systems, agricultural fields, and paper mills. This material is then processed through grinding and injected deep underground using specialized pumps. This process is designed to prevent the natural decomposition of the waste, which would otherwise release greenhouse gases like methane, a gas that has four times the warming potential of CO2.
"We're taking different types of organic waste that today causes problems above ground, and instead we put it really deep underground for permanent carbon removal," said Julia Reichelstein, Vaulted Deep's CEO, in comments to Inc.
This technology aims to tackle multiple environmental issues at once. Conventional waste disposal methods often involve spreading biosolids on farmland, which can result in nutrient runoff and the contamination of water systems with harmful chemicals such as PFAS.
Microsoft to achieve carbon neutral by 2030
Microsoft is aiming to achieve carbon negativity by 2030 and plans to remove more greenhouse gases than it has emitted since its inception by 2050. The company has already acquired over 83 million tons of carbon removal credits, with 59 million purchased this year alone.
"Vaulted Deep provides a differentiated, scalable approach to permanent carbon removal with low technology risk," stated Brian Marrs, Microsoft's senior director of energy and carbon removal.
The agreement with Vaulted Deep marks the second-largest carbon removal purchase ever recorded, following only Microsoft's prior $2.36 billion deal with AtmosClear, which aims to remove 6.75 million metric tons over a 15-year period.