Frontier, a corporate-backed carbon removal buyers’ coalition, has signed an $11.7 million offtake agreement with 44.01 to advance carbon removal through in-situ mineralisation, a process that converts carbon dioxide into solid minerals underground.

The contract covers 20,932 tonnes of CO2, with deliveries scheduled between 2028 and 2031. The deal represents Frontier’s first purchase using this technology, according to its official announcement.

The project will use biogenic CO2 captured during biogas upgrading at a wastewater treatment plant in the United Arab Emirates. The gas will be dissolved in water and injected into peridotite, a naturally occurring rock containing minerals that react with carbon dioxide. The reaction produces stable solid carbonates, locking the carbon underground.

The agreement is intended to help establish whether the technique can operate continuously over multiple years, generating evidence on injection rates, water requirements and operating costs.

Previous field trials have demonstrated the process over shorter periods, but sustained operations are an important step towards commercial deployment.

Hannah Bebbington Valori, head of Frontier, said the technology could expand the number of locations where carbon can be stored permanently.

“Where we can store CO2 shouldn’t limit where we can remove it,” she said.

The approach could reduce reliance on long-distance pipelines and shipping where reactive rock formations are located near emissions sources.

Frontier estimates that suitable formations worldwide could potentially store more than five billion tonnes of CO2 annually, although this represents estimated geological potential rather than proven operating capacity.

01, the agreement is intended to bridge the gap between demonstration projects and commercial operations.

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