44.01 Secures $11.7 Million Frontier Deal for 20,932 Tonnes of CO₂ Mineralisation

Carbon removal company 44.01 has secured $11.7 million in offtake agreements with buyers participating through Frontier to permanently remove 20,932 tonnes of carbon dioxide between 2028 and 2031. Announced on 15 October 2026, the agreement marks Frontier's first purchase of carbon removal using in-situ mineralisation (ISM), a process that converts captured CO₂ into solid rock underground. The project will help 44.01 move from short-duration injection pilots to continuous, commercial-scale operations.

Frontier facilitated purchases on behalf of Stripe, Google, Shopify, Autodesk, H&M Group and Workday, alongside additional buyers participating through Watershed's partnership with Frontier. These include Aledade, Canva, SKIMS, Zendesk, Wise, Skyscanner and Match Group. The agreement builds on earlier purchases by Stripe and Shopify in 2022 and will support the development of permanent carbon storage infrastructure in the Middle East.

 

How 44.01 Converts Captured CO₂ into Rock

 

44.01's technology accelerates a natural geological process by dissolving captured carbon dioxide in water and injecting the resulting solution into underground peridotite formations. These magnesium-rich rocks react with the dissolved CO₂ to form stable carbonate minerals, permanently storing the carbon in solid form.

For the Frontier-backed project, biogenic CO₂ will be separated during biogas upgrading at a wastewater treatment plant and transported to the storage site. The carbonated water will then be injected through a well reaching approximately 1,000 metres underground. According to Frontier, mineralisation takes approximately one to three years, after which the risk of CO₂ returning to the atmosphere becomes extremely low.

 

Read more: 1KOMMA5° Raises €70 Million to Scale Energy AI and 1 GW Virtual Power Plant

 

Mineralisation Could Expand Global CO₂ Storage Options

 

One of the technology's potential advantages is its ability to store carbon in locations that may lack access to conventional geological storage infrastructure. Traditional CO₂ storage generally relies on suitable sedimentary formations and can require extensive pipeline networks or transportation systems. These requirements can make permanent storage expensive for smaller industrial facilities and distributed carbon sources.

Frontier estimates that more than 50 million tonnes of industrial CO₂ emissions could potentially be captured and stored through in-situ mineralisation in the United Arab Emirates. It also identifies a theoretical global storage opportunity exceeding 5 billion tonnes annually in similar reactive rock formations. These figures describe potential geological opportunities rather than commercially demonstrated storage capacity. Actual deployment will depend on geological suitability, water availability, permitting and operating economics.

 

Project Will Test Continuous Commercial Operations

 

44.01 has conducted five field pilots involving shorter-duration CO₂ injection programmes since 2023, including demonstrations in Oman and the UAE. The Frontier-backed project will be among its first attempts to operate the technology continuously over multiple years. The company will collect information on sustained injection rates, water requirements, operating costs and system reliability to assess whether the process can support larger projects.

Monitoring will be an important part of the operation. The process uses mass-flow measurements to track injected CO₂, monitoring wells to assess mineral formation and geophysical sensors to observe underground fluid movement and potential seismic activity. Frontier says the eventual conversion of CO₂ into solid minerals could reduce long-term monitoring and containment requirements compared with conventional storage of buoyant CO₂, although commercial operating data will be needed to demonstrate those advantages.

 

Explore OneStop ESG Marketplace: Carbon removal (CDR)

 

Technology Targets Carbon Removal and Industrial Decarbonisation

 

The technology has potential applications beyond biogenic carbon removal. 44.01 is also developing mineralisation systems for industrial emissions, including a pilot with Holcim at a cement plant in the UAE. The same geological process can store CO₂ captured from cement, steel and other industrial activities, creating opportunities to reduce emissions from sectors where direct electrification remains difficult.

The distinction between these applications is important. Capturing and permanently storing appropriately sourced biogenic CO₂ can support carbon removal claims, while storing fossil-derived industrial emissions primarily prevents additional CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. Both applications require reliable measurement and verification, but they contribute differently to climate mitigation.

Talal Hasan, Founder and CEO of 44.01, said, "This first-of-a-kind agreement with Frontier marks an important step in taking in-situ mineralization from demonstration into commercialization." He added that the company would focus on delivering the contracted removals, improving performance and reducing costs.

 

Hannah Bebbington Valori, Head of Frontier, emphasised the potential to expand permanent carbon storage beyond established geological locations. "Where we can store CO₂ shouldn't limit where we can remove it," she said. "In-situ mineralization could expand the storage map, making permanent storage practical in places conventional storage can't economically reach."

The project will provide evidence of whether in-situ mineralisation can operate continuously and economically at commercial scale. Successful delivery of the contracted removals between 2028 and 2031 would establish an important operating record for a technology seeking wider adoption in permanent carbon removal and industrial decarbonisation.

 

Source: Frontier