Aker Solutions has signed a strategic agreement with Microsoft to advance the maturity, bankability, and deployment of global carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects.
Formally signed at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) conference in Stavanger, Norway, the collaboration will see Aker Solutions engage with project developers, industrial emitters, transport and storage operators, and governments. The initiative aims to reduce execution risks, enhance investment readiness—including the structure of CDR credit mechanisms—and streamline progress towards final investment decisions.
The partnership integrates Microsoft’s digital architecture, artificial intelligence capabilities, carbon market expertise, and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems with Aker Solutions’ techno-economic advisory and complete engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) capabilities. For selecting projects approaching final investment decisions, the companies will offer integrated engineering and execution support to provide developers with a single, continuous pathway from early feasibility through to full operations.
Explaining the operational goals of the agreement, Kjetel Digre, Chief Executive Officer at Aker Solutions, noted: “Many carbon capture and removal projects face similar challenges as they move from concept to reality. As the market matures, success will depend on strong collaboration across the value chain. Joining forces with Microsoft, we aim to help project developers navigate complexity, strengthen business cases, and support the next wave of CCS and CDR projects.”
The initiative aligns with Microsoft’s target to become carbon negative by 2030 and eliminate its historical corporate emissions by 2050. The technology company has actively sought to expand the commercial market for durable carbon removal through long-term off-take contracts.
Highlighting the joint technical strategy, Darryl Willis, Corporate Vice-President for Energy and Resources at Microsoft, stated: “Microsoft supports collaborations that look holistically across the entire value chain, connecting physical infrastructure with trusted data, AI and digital MRV to help projects reduce risk, and move from ambition to execution. We are working with Aker Solutions to bring these complementary capabilities together and help accelerate credible CCS and carbon removal projects globally.”
