• ExxonMobil to transport and permanently store 680,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year from AtmosClear’s Baton Rouge BECCS facility.
• Contract linked to Microsoft’s carbon removal credit purchases, among the largest agreements in the voluntary CDR market.
• Project builds on ExxonMobil’s expanding carbon storage network in Louisiana, already backed by Class VI wells and pipelines.

Baton Rouge bets on carbon removal

ExxonMobil has been selected to transport and permanently store carbon dioxide captured at AtmosClear’s planned biomass energy facility at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, marking one of the largest bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) commitments in the United States to date.

AtmosClear BR, a subsidiary specializing in carbon capture from biomass, said the project will sequester up to 680,000 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ annually. The company cited ExxonMobil’s existing infrastructure — including Class VI injection wells, pipelines, and monitoring systems already in operation — as decisive factors in the selection.

AtmosClear Chief Executive Dan Shapiro said ExxonMobil’s “safety culture and operational track record” made it the preferred partner. He also tied the agreement to an earlier deal with Microsoft, which has committed to purchase carbon removal credits from the facility once it comes online.

Financing carbon removal through credit markets

The contract feeds into a rapidly expanding market for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits. AtmosClear’s credits are expected to be sold to industrial and technology buyers seeking to offset hard-to-abate emissions.

“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,” Shapiro said.

For Microsoft, which has been active in sourcing high-quality removal credits, the deal reflects growing corporate demand for solutions that go beyond emissions avoidance. By tying project revenues directly to long-term credit purchases, AtmosClear and ExxonMobil are embedding CCS into a commercial model designed to survive outside subsidy regimes.

ExxonMobil doubles down on Louisiana

For ExxonMobil, the arrangement is part of a broader strategy to cement Louisiana as a hub for carbon capture and storage. The company has already signed four other carbon storage contracts in the state, making this the fifth addition to its portfolio.

Barry Engle, President of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said the project would “support the local economy while expanding our leadership in large-scale carbon storage.” The company now describes its Louisiana system as the largest integrated CCS network in operation globally, with a model built on long-term offtake agreements from industrial emitters.

The strategy reflects a shift by the oil major toward low-carbon services. By repurposing existing pipeline corridors and storage sites, ExxonMobil aims to reduce costs and accelerate project deployment, while creating durable revenue streams from CDR markets and industrial partnerships.

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Policy and global significance

Louisiana has emerged as a testing ground for US carbon storage policy. The state secured primacy from the Environmental Protection Agency for permitting Class VI wells earlier this year, streamlining approvals for CCS operators. The regulatory certainty has drawn companies like ExxonMobil, which require large, bankable volumes of CO₂ to justify infrastructure build-out.

For investors and corporate buyers, the Baton Rouge project illustrates how voluntary carbon markets are beginning to interact with regulated infrastructure. If scaled, it could serve as a template for how bioenergy plants, storage operators, and credit purchasers link up in a way that supports both climate goals and regional economies.

Globally, BECCS projects remain sparse, and questions over permanence, land use, and verification continue. Yet deals of this size, particularly those linked to credit purchases by firms like Microsoft, point to growing willingness among corporates to underwrite the technology.

Outlook

AtmosClear’s Baton Rouge site will join ExxonMobil’s existing logistics and storage network, positioning the facility as a cornerstone of a new carbon removal supply chain in the Gulf Coast. For state leaders, the deal ties economic development to climate targets. For global ESG stakeholders, it shows how a combination of infrastructure readiness, policy alignment, and corporate procurement can push carbon removal beyond the pilot stage.

If successful, the partnership could establish Louisiana as a key anchor for the emerging global carbon removal industry, with implications for how voluntary and compliance markets evolve over the next decade.

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