CDR Monthly Recap - July 2025

We are back with another edition of the CDR Monthly Recap, a monthly round-up of some of the top news, developments, and market updates from the world of durable carbon removal.

After a relatively slow June that saw around 1.2 million tonnes contracted, July was one of the biggest months in durable CDR purchase volume history with over 8 million tonnes contracted, as Microsoft alone led with 7.86 million tonnes in purchases. Other top deals saw the participation of Frontier, Palo Alto Networks, Arbor Energy, and 1PointFive, to name a few.

New projects, partnerships, and large funding opportunities, as well as announcements, continue to drive momentum for the industry ahead, alongside various events in the field.

Read on to learn more below!

How did durable CDR fare in Q2 2025?
Explore insights from the 2025 Q2 Durable CDR Market Update, in which we analyze and uncover major trends in the durable carbon removal market.

Deals and Partnerships

[Image source: Vaulted Deep]

Deals

Vaulted Deep signed an offtake agreement with Microsoft for 4.915 million tonnes, making it the 2nd largest durable CDR deal to date. Vaulted recently opened a new facility that is expected to deliver 50,000 tonnes of CDR annually at full capacity.

Denmark-based Gaia ProjectCo signed a long-term agreement with Microsoft for 2.95 million tonnes of CDR. The agreement will enable Gaia to retrofit a waste-to-energy facility to capture and store 500,000 tonnes of biogenic and fossil CO₂ annually.

Arbor Energy signed a $41 million offtake agreement with Frontier Buyers for 116,000 tonnes of CDR, which will enable the launch of its first commercial facility in Louisiana to validate a new approach for generating clean electricity and removing CO₂.

Palo Alto Networks signed an offtake agreement with 1PointFive to purchase 10,000 tonnes of CDR. This is Palo Alto’s first-ever durable CDR deal, and the credits will be delivered over 5 years from 1PointFive’s STRATOS facility in Texas.

Frontier announced that it has facilitated $1.75 million worth of CDR prepurchases from 3 companies - Karbonetiq, Limenet, and pHathom, for 2,982 tonnes of CDR. It has facilitated purchases on behalf of buyers using Stripe, Shopify, and Google.

UK-based climate platform Glad Climate made its first biochar CDR purchase through a deal for 1 tonne of biochar from Restord at £200/tonne, with the credit’s delivery and retirement scheduled by September 30, 2025.

Partnerships

Elimini signed a joint development agreement with Greater Copenhagen's public utility HOFOR to explore the development of a large-scale BECCS facility that will generate carbon removal credits along with renewable electricity and heat.

Mitsubishi Research Institute and Mitsubishi Corporation announced that they will launch the Japan CDR Council in September with an aim to bring companies, academics, and officials together to promote CDR in the country.

Capture6 partnered with Isometric to issue high-integrity DAC credits from Project Wallaby in Western Australia, aligning with the Isometric Standard and the Direct Air Capture Protocol.

Australian company Pyrocal was selected to equip Canada’s Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada, to turn green waste into biochar at a wastewater plant, and thereby remove CO₂ from the air.

Phlair and Carbon Removal, via its subsidiary NorDAC Kollsnes, partnered to build a DAC and geologic CO₂ storage plant beside Norway’s Northern Lights terminal, initially capable of removing 60,000 tonnes of CO₂ and 500,000 tonnes a year in its second phase.

McGill St Laurent (MSL) Climate partnered with Deep Sky, securing an allocation of 3,000 tonnes of CDR for its clients. The credits will be delivered starting in 2027, and the partnership also marks the first DAC project in MSL Climate’s portfolio.

Rainbow (formerly Riverse) and Offstream announced a partnership with an aim to streamline the entire MRV processes, from data collection and monitoring to documentation and audit readiness.

Want to know more about durable CDR?
Join over 1,000 companies and sign up for free access to the CDR.fyi Portal to gain market insights, showcase your company’s profile and progress, and get on the CDR Map!

Projects

[Image source: Planboo]

Planboo and Carboneers launched their first joint project in Oti, Ghana, helping cacao farmers turn agricultural waste into biochar, cutting methane by 94% and enhancing safety with digital MRV.

Project developer Boomitra launched its first BiCRS project in Botswana, which will turn invasive woody biomass into sealed carbon bales for underground storage, restoring savannas, supporting biodiversity, and creating rural jobs for local communities.

Climeworks and KAPSARC, backed by the Saudi Energy Ministry, launched a mobile DAC unit in Riyadh. The unit is now operational and validates Climeworks’ technology under the region’s hot and arid conditions.

US-based CDR company Alkali Earth announced that it is ceasing operations after four years, citing commercial hurdles. It will publish data and insights in the coming months to aid future mineralization innovators in the CDR community.

Get Custom Reports from CDR.fyi
Get custom reports with data coverage across specific data on durable CDR transactions, insights and analysis from our surveys, and insights on equity investments. Email team@cdr.fyi to get started.

Financing

[Image source: Climeworks]

Climeworks secured $162 million in additional equity funding to scale its DAC technology and its CDR portfolio vertical. BigPoint Holding and Partners Group led the investment round, while existing investors also participated.

Mission Zero Technologies received £6 million from the UK’s Department of Transport to design a commercial DAC-SAF plant in Cumbria, aiming to produce 25,000 litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) annually and remove 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year.

Terraset announced an investment of a seven-figure amount in additional philanthropic capital into 8 durable CDR companies, which include CarbonRun, Deep Sky, Eion, NY Carbon, Pyrogen, Sinkco, Terraton, Tradewater, and UNDO.

Dutch company Carbyon secured strategic investment from ISAI Build Venture to scale its fast-swing direct air capture technology. The fresh investment is an extension to its $17.9 million Series A round that was announced in September 2024.

remove opened applications for its accelerator programs for Europe and India, supporting early-stage carbon removal startups with expert coaching, ecosystem access, and up to €15,000 in non-dilutive funding in the second round.

Dutch marine CDR company SeaO₂, along with TU Delft, Twente University, and NERA, secured €1.64 million from the TKI Energy and Industry program to develop sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF) using seawater, renewable electricity, and captured CO₂.

DAC company Spiritus was awarded $500,000 by the New Mexico Economic Development Department (NMEED), supporting its local expansion and presence that is expected to introduce new job opportunities in the region.

Planet2050 launched its inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP), offering up to €2 million in upfront financing for tech-based, permanent carbon-removal projects. Applications close on 22 July, 2025 for the first funded cohort.

AirMiners opened applications for its 2025 Buyers Club, seeking purchases of 100–10,000 tonnes of CDR with delivery timelines of 12–18 months, with preference for biochar, biomass burial, and BiCRS and BECCS projects to align with the timeline.

Pinwheel opened an application round for durable and nature-based CDR projects to receive funding on behalf of global corporates. The application window closes on September 5.

Wren Climate Collective launched a $100,000 non‑dilutive grant for early‑stage carbon‑removal startups, prioritising underdeveloped, high‑potential pathways and offering mentorship to accelerate market traction.

CEEZER announced that its third Carbon Coalition accelerator program has produced seven startups projecting 2.5 Mt CO₂e removals by 2030; listings are now live for preview buyers on the CEEZER platform.

Pricing Mismatch in Durable CDR Explore insights from the Durable CDR Pricing Survey, conducted in partnership with OPIS, to help market participants better understand pricing expectations for durable CDR credits.

Policy

[Image source: Ingo Joseph]

Germany’s 2026 draft budget announced the allocation of €111 million for CDR, with €98 million for project funding, €11.5 million for direct public procurement, and €320 million in multi-year commitments through 2033. €44.6M will be utilized to support soil carbon.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) Authority announced its comprehensive plan for integrating Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGRs) by the end of 2028, aiming for integration to be operational by the end of 2029.

Carbon Gap launched the Coordinated Allocation of Removal Efforts (CARE) Calculator, a tool that estimates EU and national CDR obligations based on factors such as climate pathways, equality, and biophysical capacities, amongst others.

Negative Emissions Platform, in collaboration with partners such as AFEN and CDR.fyi, published a toolkit outlining 25 policy instruments, emphasizing early commitments and long‑term demand signals to mobilize investment for CDR at scale.

Research and Reports

[Image source: Beate Vogl]

The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment published a new report with CO₂RE, offering a detailed overview of the UK's CDR landscape across areas such as the VCM, current deployment levels, policy, financing, R&D, and public perception.

Gold Standard released a new science-based framework to guide high-integrity CDR projects towards certification, aligned with EU CRCF, CORSIA, Article 6.4, and national policies.

Carbon Direct published a whitepaper on navigating carbon credit registries, comparing standards, tracking mechanisms, and verification protocols to help buyers assess integrity and permanence.

Isometric opened public consultation on its Biochar Storage in Built Materials Module, detailing 1,000-year MRV requirements for crediting biochar embedded in concrete, asphalt, and other construction products.

Puro.earth’s Advisory Board approved its 2025 Biochar Methodology, adding stricter biomass-sourcing criteria and phased transition deadlines to boost scientific rigour for all future biochar credit certifications.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and DVNE published a report outlining what Germany needs to scale carbon removal across investment, policy, EU ETS integration and national support framework to catch up with leading nations like the Denmark, UK and US.

TierraSphere launched the world’s first CDR methodology based on photosynthesis-driven oxalate-carbonate mineralization that converts CO₂ into stable minerals through regenerative agroforestry systems.

Carbon Direct and Microsoft released their updated criteria for high-quality carbon removal, adding marine CDR guidance and refining standards across methods to ensure scientific rigor and transparency.

Carbon to Sea Initiative, along with its partners, released a worldwide Request for Information (RFI) seeking researchers and sites to build a distributed ocean alkalinity enhancement field network to accelerate collaborative discovery.

Supercritical released a new guide for buyers on how to design Request For Proposals (RFP) in CDR, offering practical insights on structuring deals, managing risk, establishing criteria and milestone-based contracting.

ClimeFi and the World Ocean Council released an article exploring marine CDR’s growing role in climate action, highlighting diverse technologies, unique features, challenges, and opportunities that they present.

Carbon Direct published a whitepaper examining biochar’s carbon permanence, challenging comparisons to inertinite and advocating for conservative, science-based crediting to ensure durable carbon removal.

Leaderboard Updates - July 2025

Around 8.1 million tonnes of CDR were purchased in July after a relatively slow June, which saw around 1.2 million tonnes of CDR contracted.

Listed below are the July leaderboards for top suppliers and purchasers:

Supplier Leaderboard

Purchaser Leaderboard

For more detailed insights into the durable CDR market, sign up for free access to the CDR.fyi Portal.

Events Round-up - July 2025

[Image source: Hanson Wade]

• The 2nd Advancing Marine CDR Summit was held in Boston, which gathered project developers, regulators, academic thought leaders, past and prospective buyers, and investors to explore growth opportunities and pain points in the marine carbon removal space.
• CO2RE - The Greenhouse Gas Removal Hub held a webinar presenting the latest research and debating what is needed to enable the sustainable scale-up of Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) in the UK.
• The CDR Policy Scoop held a webinar that welcomed Ted Christie Miller (co-founder, Residual) to discuss the UK’s recent developments in CDR policy and the government’s approach to carbon markets and expansion of the UK ETS.
• Check out the CDR Events Calendar to stay updated with upcoming CDR events!

CDR.fyi Updates and Research

• 2025 Q2 Durable CDR Market Update - Biggest Quarter Ever

• We released the 2025 Q2 Durable CDR Market Update report, analyzing and uncovering key trends in the durable CDR market. At 15.48 million tonnes, this was the largest quarter in durable CDR history, eclipsing total volume (13.6 million tonnes) contracted to date as of end of Q1.
• This blog post is an abridged version of the comprehensive edition exclusive to our Data Partners and Platform Subscribers. For access to the full report or further information, kindly contact us at partners@cdr.fyi.

Stay connected

• Follow us on LinkedIn for This Week in CDR and our weekly polls.
• We'd love to hear from you! Reach out to us anytime with suggestions or comments at team@cdr.fyi.

Disclosure

CDR.fyi is a public benefit corporation operating globally. The company has numerous contributors, some of whom have affiliations with companies in the industry, including Milkywire, Charm Industrial, CDRJobs, DVNE and ETH. Data and content published by CDR.fyi, including This Week in CDR, this Monthly Update, and our Quarterly Market Updates, are vetted and reviewed by CDR.fyi representatives with no conflict of interest.

Join over 1,000 companies and sign up for free access to the CDR.fyi Portal to gain market insights, showcase your company’s profile and progress, and get on the CDR Map!