Liferaft Announces a 10-Year, 1 Million Carbon Removal Units Offtake Agreement with Microsoft
WEST LIBERTY, Iowa, March 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liferaft, a United States–based biochar company, has finalized an agreement to supply Microsoft with one million high-quality carbon removal units (CRUs) over a ten-year period.
The offtake was facilitated by Supercritical, a London-based carbon removal marketplace. Supercritical supported Liferaft during the early stages of project design, ensuring needed scale and robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) protocols to help meet Microsoft’s rigorous standards.
The CRUs will be delivered through Liferaft’s large-scale biochar facilities located in the U.S. Midwest, specifically Iowa and Illinois. These facilities will source agricultural and municipal biomass from the surrounding region. The biomass will be processed on site using pyrolysis—heating organic material in the absence of oxygen in specialized equipment known as pyrolyzers—to produce durable biochar.
The resulting biochar will be blended with compost to create a biochar-compost mix for approved end uses, including agricultural applications. When applied to soils, biochar can improve soil health and crop yields while durably sequestering carbon for hundreds of years.
All biochar produced under this agreement will be tracked using MRV systems to confirm that it is applied only in approved end uses that ensure long-term carbon storage. The project will be registered on an ICROA-endorsed registry, with CRUs issued following independent third-party verification.
William Cowell de Gruchy, CEO of Liferaft, said:
Alongside the carbon and potential soil health benefits of the project, potential economic benefits and community impact were key considerations in its planning. Liferaft has worked with a wide range of stakeholders locally to understand and address local needs collaboratively from the start. This impacted all elements of the project, not least the feedstocks used, locations selected, and community engagement routes.
Mayor Mark Smith of West Liberty, said:
Phillip Goodman, Director, Carbon Removal at Microsoft, commented:
The project confirms a commitment by Liferaft to rural American communities, workers, climate action, and nature in a time when all are sorely needed, and this offtake with Microsoft helps make that commitment possible. These projects are designed to be the first of many such projects to come from Liferaft.
ABOUT LIFERAFT
Liferaft is a U.S.-headquartered biochar company, focused on both durable carbon capture and restoring rural economies and communities. Liferaft is dedicated not only to climate action, but also to a broad range of environmental benefits and human impacts based on a philosophy that a thriving natural world and a strong economy with vibrant communities are not mutually exclusive. Liferaft's approach has begun in the U.S. Midwest but is applicable nationally and worldwide. Liferaft is excited to work with anyone who wants to invigorate rural economies and communities and take climate action.
If you are seeking biochar, carbon credits, or a destination for a large amount of organic material, please contact Liferaft here.
ABOUT SUPERCRITICAL
Supercritical is a carbon removal marketplace. We source, create, and guarantee permanent supply for the world's most demanding buyers, and partner with the projects building the future of carbon removal. Forward-thinking companies like Microsoft, The Economist Group, Virgin Atlantic, and Rothschild & Co trust Supercritical to meet their demand for high-quality carbon removal, driving immediate climate action rather than delaying efforts decades from now.
Contact information:
Jacqueline Siffer
jacqueline@browningenvironmental.com
+1 2026151983
Barbara Mendes
barbara@gosupercritical.com
+351 961 789 831
William Cowell de Gruchy
will@liferaft.cc