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    Frontier (carbon removal buyers' coalition)

    Also known as Frontier Climate, Frontier AMC

    Frontier is an advance market commitment that tries to speed up carbon removal technologies by guaranteeing future demand; it launched in 2022 backed by Stripe, Google, Shopify and others.[1][2] In June 2026 it raised its total commitment to $1.8 billion and had contracted more than 1.8 million tonnes across 53 projects, while Microsoft still dominated the market.[3][4][5]

    Editor reviewedUpdated WikiClimate science and carbon removal, Energy and climate
    Key facts

    What it is

    Frontier is an advance market commitment (AMC): a group of companies that pledges to buy carbon removal in the future so that suppliers can build and improve their technology now.[1] It launched in 2022 as a commitment to buy $1 billion of carbon removal by 2030, backed by Stripe, Google, Shopify and others.[2] Its members now include Anthropic, Salesforce, H&M, JPMorgan Chase, McKinsey Sustainability, Workday and Autodesk.[6]

    Size and portfolio

    On 17 June 2026 Frontier announced $915 million in new commitments, bringing its total to $1.8 billion of permanent carbon removal by 2040; anthropic joined as a buyer as part of that announcement.[3] By then it had contracted more than 1.8 million tonnes across 53 projects, worth $698 million.[4] Disclosure: Anthropic also provides the model used to draft pages on this site.

    Contracted tonnes are mostly future deliveries. Frontier says seven portfolio companies delivered about 23,000 tonnes in 2025, roughly twice the year before, and that its companies forecast more than 50,000 tonnes in 2026.[7] It says it has assessed more than 500 companies, and that its buyers signed the first commercial deals in enhanced-rock-weathering, inland and ocean alkalinity enhancement, biomass injection and waste-to-energy with carbon capture.[8]

    Its portfolio spans several methods. In August 2025 Frontier buyers signed a $31.3 million offtake with Planetary for more than 115,000 tonnes of ocean-carbon-dioxide-removal through alkalinity enhancement between 2026 and 2030.[9] On 3 September 2026 it awarded $2.1 million in grants to the University of St Andrews, the University of Cambridge, [C]Worthy and Submarine Scientific to work on obstacles to scaling ocean alkalinity enhancement.[10]

    Strategy for the new money

    Frontier says it will concentrate the new funds on fewer companies whose technology it believes could reach gigaton scale.[11] Every deal will also need a clear line of sight to long-term demand from compliance markets, industrial regulation or government procurement.[11] Its own pathway estimates show the trade-offs: it puts ocean alkalinity enhancement and direct air capture above 10 billion tonnes a year, at $70–200 and $200–300 per tonne respectively.[12][13] Biomass-based removal is put at 1–5 billion tonnes and enhanced weathering at about 1–2 billion tonnes.[14][15] These are a buyer’s estimates, not independent assessments.

    Place in the market

    The durable carbon removal market is highly concentrated. CDR.fyi counted 30.4 million tonnes contracted in 2025, and Microsoft accounted for 78.5% of all disclosed durable tonnes purchased as of April 2026.[16][5] When Microsoft was reported in April 2026 to be pausing new purchases, the State of CDR report cited its procurement adjustments as evidence of how vulnerable a one-buyer market is.[17][18] Microsoft has since signed smaller deals, but DatacenterDynamics reported that its purchasing pace had dropped sharply in 2026.[19] Frontier says more than 350 new corporate buyers have bought almost four million tonnes since 2022, and that nine governments or blocs, including the EU, US, UK and Japan, have passed demand-side legislation.[20] Frontier’s 1.8 million contracted tonnes are small next to that share, but its June 2026 commitments add $915 million of new demand.[3][4]

    Questions to watch

    Whether Frontier’s pledges turn into delivered, verified tonnes depends on suppliers meeting their delivery schedules and on verification methods for harder-to-measure approaches such as enhanced weathering and ocean alkalinity enhancement.[21] Most novel removal credits contracted so far are ex ante, for removals that will happen in the future.[22]

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    Questions readers ask

    What is an advance market commitment?

    A pledge to buy a product in the future to encourage companies to develop it now. Frontier applies this to carbon removal by guaranteeing future demand.[1]

    How big is Frontier?

    After $915 million of new commitments in June 2026, its members have pledged $1.8 billion of permanent carbon removal by 2040.[3]

    How much has Frontier actually bought?

    As of June 2026 it had contracted more than 1.8 million tonnes across 53 projects, worth $698 million.[4]

    How does Frontier compare with Microsoft?

    Microsoft accounted for 78.5% of disclosed durable removal tonnes purchased as of April 2026, so Frontier is a much smaller buyer by volume.[5][4]

    How much removal has Frontier's portfolio actually delivered?

    Frontier says seven portfolio companies delivered about 23,000 tonnes in 2025, and that its companies forecast more than 50,000 tonnes in 2026. These figures are self-reported.[7]

    Sources

    · 22 claims from 7 publishers

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Tap a number in the text to see its sources in place.

    1. [1]

      Frontier is an advance market commitment that aims to accelerate carbon removal technologies by guaranteeing future demand for them. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    2. [2]

      Frontier was launched in 2022 as a commitment to buy $1 billion of carbon removal by 2030, backed by Stripe, Google, Shopify and others. confirmedas of 2026-06-23

    3. [3]

      In June 2026 Frontier announced $915 million in new commitments, bringing its total to $1.8 billion of permanent carbon removal by 2040, and Anthropic joined as a buyer. confirmedas of 2026-06-17

    4. [4]

      As of June 2026 Frontier had contracted more than 1.8 million tonnes of carbon removal across 53 projects, worth $698 million. confirmedas of 2026-06-23

    5. [5]

      Microsoft accounted for 78.5% of all disclosed durable carbon removal tonnes purchased as of April 2026, according to CDR.fyi. confirmedas of 2026-06-12

    6. [6]

      Frontier lists members including Stripe, Google, Shopify, Anthropic, Salesforce, H&M, JPMorgan Chase, McKinsey Sustainability, Workday and Autodesk. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    7. [7]

      Frontier says seven of its portfolio companies delivered about 23,000 tonnes of removal in 2025, roughly double the year before, and that its portfolio companies forecast more than 50,000 tonnes in 2026 (self-reported). confirmedas of 2026-06-17

    8. [8]

      Frontier says its buyers signed the first commercial deals in enhanced rock weathering, inland water and ocean alkalinity enhancement, biomass injection and waste-to-energy with carbon capture, and that it has assessed more than 500 companies. confirmedas of 2026-06-17

    9. [9]

      In August 2025 Frontier buyers signed a $31.3 million offtake with Planetary to remove more than 115,000 tonnes of CO2 between 2026 and 2030 through ocean alkalinity enhancement, starting at Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia. confirmedas of 2025-08-26

    10. [10]

      On 3 September 2026 Frontier awarded $2.1 million in grants to the University of St Andrews, the University of Cambridge, [C]Worthy and Submarine Scientific to tackle technical hurdles in scaling ocean alkalinity enhancement. confirmedas of 2026-09-03

    11. [11]

      Frontier said its new funds would concentrate purchases on a narrower set of companies it judges to have gigaton-scale potential, and that every deal would need a clear line of sight to long-term demand such as compliance markets or government procurement. confirmedas of 2026-06-17

    12. [12]

      Frontier estimates ocean alkalinity enhancement could exceed 10 billion tonnes a year at $70–200 per tonne using limestone calcination, but says scaling needs cheaper calcination, demonstration of minimal ecosystem risks and trustworthy ocean models to quantify removal. confirmedas of 2026-06-17· interpretation

    13. [13]

      Frontier estimates direct air capture could scale beyond 10 billion tonnes a year at $200–300 per tonne, but says 1 billion tonnes a year at 2 MWh per tonne would need about 2,000 TWh of clean energy, around 6% of today's global electricity. confirmedas of 2026-06-17· interpretation

    14. [14]

      Frontier estimates biomass carbon removal and storage, including BECCS and bio-oil injection, could reach 1–5 billion tonnes a year at $60–200 per tonne if feedstock meets sustainable sourcing criteria; 1 billion tonnes would take about 1,250 plants the size of Stockholm Exergi's. confirmedas of 2026-06-17· interpretation

    15. [15]

      Frontier estimates enhanced rock weathering could reach about 1–2 billion tonnes a year at $75–200 per tonne; 1 billion tonnes would mean crushing about four billion tonnes of rock and spreading it on roughly 28% of global cropland, and would require moving from direct soil measurements to modelled quantification. confirmedas of 2026-06-17· interpretation

    16. [16]

      CDR.fyi counted 30.4 million tonnes of durable carbon removal contracted in 2025, with 2.3 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2026. confirmedas of 2026-06-12

    17. [17]

      In April 2026 Heatmap News and Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was pausing future carbon removal purchases; Microsoft said it may "adjust the pace or volume" of its procurement. confirmedas of 2026-04-16

    18. [18]

      The State of CDR report found novel removal concentrated in two methods (biochar and BECCS) and one dominant buyer (Microsoft), and cited US climate policy dismantling and Microsoft's adjustments to its procurement pace as evidence of the resulting vulnerability. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    19. [19]

      In August 2026 Microsoft signed a deal with Crew Carbon for up to 23,602 removal units from wastewater alkalinity enhancement, its third removal deal since reports that it was adjusting the pace of purchases, after BioCirc (650,000 tonnes) and enhanced weathering firm Alt Carbon (36,920 tonnes); DatacenterDynamics said its purchasing cadence had dropped significantly in 2026. reportedas of 2026-08-05

    20. [20]

      Frontier says more than 350 new corporate buyers have bought almost four million tonnes of carbon removal since 2022, and that Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, the EU, Japan, the US and Canada have passed demand-side legislation. confirmedas of 2026-06-17

    21. [21]

      The State of CDR report lists open problems for novel CDR quality, including sustainable biomass sourcing for BECCS and biochar, permanence of storage, measurement of enhanced weathering and ocean alkalinity enhancement, and lifecycle emissions of energy-intensive DACCS. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    22. [22]

      Contracted volumes of novel CDR reached 30.2 million tonnes in 2025, almost four times 2024, led by BECCS at 20.8 million tonnes; most novel credits are still ex ante, meaning the removal will happen in the future. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Refresh: corrected the June 2026 announcement date to 17 June using Frontier's own post; added deliveries, its narrowed strategy and pathway estimates, and the September 2026 ocean grants.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Frontier (carbon removal buyers' coalition)." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/frontier-carbon-removal

    Spotted an error? Suggest a correction or emailcorrections@contentlora.com.

    Connections
    Ocean-based carbon … Buys fromAnthropic Buyer memberEnhanced rock weath… Buys from
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