Key facts
- Anthropic has joined the carbon removal initiative Frontier.
- Frontier announced an additional $915 million in funding for carbon removal projects.
- The total funding pledges for Frontier now amount to $1.8 billion.
- The funding will support technologies such as direct air capture and enhanced rock weathering.
- Frontier aims to scale carbon removal technologies by committing to buy credits in advance.
Anthropic, the creator of the Claude AI service, has joined Frontier, a coalition of companies aiming to scale carbon removal technologies. The initiative announced on Wednesday an additional $915 million in funding, bringing its total pledges to $1.8 billion.
Frontier, launched in 2022 by companies including Stripe and Google, commits to buying carbon removal credits in advance to de-risk projects and accelerate their growth. The coalition has already signed contracts worth nearly $700 million for 1.8 million tons of removals from 53 companies.
The new funding, referred to as the "Growth AMC," will target technologies such as ocean alkalinity enhancement, biomass-based removal, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture. Frontier plans to make approximately 10 to 15 focused investments through eight- to ten-year offtake contracts that could extend as far as 2040. These technologies collectively have the potential to reach gigaton scale, though each carries distinct cost and technology risks.
Anthropic's involvement is notable as large AI model builders have historically announced few sustainability initiatives. The carbon removal sector has faced scrutiny, particularly after reports that Microsoft, a significant purchaser of removals, was slowing its buying. However, recent guidance from the Science Based Targets initiative, requiring companies to use removals for a portion of ongoing emissions from 2035, provides a boost to the market.