Microsoft has announced a new long-term offtake agreement with energy infrastructure investment manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Danish waste-to-energy (WtE) company Vestforbrænding. This agreement involves the delivery of approximately 3 million tonnes of carbon removal through a large-scale carbon capture and storage project at a WtE facility in the greater Copenhagen region.
Starting in 2029, Microsoft will purchase the entire volume of carbon removals generated from the Gaia project. This joint venture between CIP and Vestforbrænding aims to retrofit an existing WtE facility in Glostrup, Denmark, with one of Europe’s first large-scale carbon capture facilities. The facility will employ industrial-scale amine technology to absorb carbon dioxide from flue gas using amine-based solvents, capturing over 95% of CO2, which will then be transported for permanent storage.
CIP and Vestforbrænding have stated that the new facility is expected to capture around 500,000 tonnes of biogenic and fossil CO2 annually at full scale, with the Carbon Removal Units (CRUs) generated from the project representing the biogenic portion. Additionally, the project will allow the facility to expand its district heating capacity, supplying heat to an extra 10,000 homes.
Steen Neuchs Vedel, CEO of Vestforbrænding, commented that the offtake agreement with Microsoft is a significant milestone for the Gaia project. It validates the technical and commercial maturity that Vestforbrænding has developed and reflects the strengthened partnership with CIP. This collaboration combines operational expertise with CIP’s ability to scale and deliver complex infrastructure.
This agreement is part of a series of large-scale carbon credit deals by Microsoft, which is the largest corporate buyer of carbon removal credits globally. It follows another waste-to-energy carbon capture transaction in June and two additional multi-million-tonne deals announced recently.
Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft, highlighted that Gaia’s approach of retrofitting waste-to-energy facilities, along with the EU Waste Framework Directive, helps unlock more carbon-free energy while prioritising waste prevention and recycling. Microsoft looks forward to continued collaboration with experienced developers like CIP.
Nikos Samaritis, Managing Director at CIP’s Energy Transition Fund (CI ETF I), expressed pride in working alongside Microsoft for the sale and purchase of permanent carbon removals. The agreement with Gaia is the first between CIP, through CI ETF I, and Microsoft, potentially marking the beginning of a long-term partnership. It is also significant for CIP as it represents their first offtake transaction for environmental attributes, indicating CIP’s growing role in developing new environmental products and technologies.
