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illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on ESG News or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: ExxonMobil has signed a landmark agreement to transport and permanently store 680,000 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ per year from AtmosClear’s biomass energy facility at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• The deal — one of the largest bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) commitments in the United States — connects industrial-scale carbon storage to voluntary carbon credit markets, with Microsoft purchasing credits tied to the project’s removals
🔭 The context: The Baton Rouge BECCS facility, developed by AtmosClear BR, will capture CO₂ from biomass combustion and deliver it to ExxonMobil’s network of Class VI wells and pipelines for deep geological storage
• The project integrates directly into ExxonMobil’s expanding Louisiana carbon storage system, which the company now describes as the largest integrated CCS network globally
• Louisiana’s newly secured EPA primacy for Class VI well permitting has made it a magnet for CCS investment, accelerating project timelines and reducing regulatory risk
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: This agreement demonstrates how voluntary carbon removal markets are beginning to merge with regulated carbon infrastructure, creating a replicable model for scalable CO₂ removal
• While BECCS remains controversial — due to concerns about land use, permanence, and lifecycle emissions — the project provides a commercial pathway for financing engineered carbon removal without relying solely on subsidies
• It also advances the global conversation around credible, verifiable carbon credits linked to real physical storage
⏭️ What's next: AtmosClear’s facility is expected to become operational later this decade, integrating into ExxonMobil’s Gulf Coast carbon transport network
• The project’s success could catalyze similar BECCS-linked credit schemes in North America and Europe, where large-scale storage infrastructure is emerging
• For Microsoft and other corporate buyers, it provides a test case for high-integrity removals at scale — potentially shaping future climate disclosure and procurement standards
💬 One quote: “This is one of the largest carbon removal agreements to date, and it helps build confidence in the scale-up of BECCS as a viable pathway.” – Dan Shapiro, CEO, AtmosClear
📈 One stat: The Baton Rouge BECCS project will sequester up to 680,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, equivalent to the emissions from roughly 150,000 passenger vehicles per year
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