Hannah Bebbington, Head of Deployment at Frontier, shares insights on the innovative $1 billion commitment to permanent carbon removal by 2030. She discusses the significant challenges the industry faces, including demand and measurement issues. Hannah elaborates on how Frontier strategically supports early-stage companies through pre-purchases, emphasizing the importance of credibility in project selection. The conversation also touches upon Microsoft's leadership in carbon removal and the evolving role of offtake agreements for scaling technologies.
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insights INSIGHT
Long-Term Climate Vision
Frontier's buyers view climate commitments long-term, understanding that carbon removal is crucial for net-zero.
They invest in early-stage technologies, despite high costs, to ensure future availability and scalability.
insights INSIGHT
Scaling Carbon Removal
Frontier's $1B commitment, while substantial, is a small step towards the massive future funding needed for carbon removal.
Government policies and infrastructure are crucial for scaling the market beyond voluntary efforts.
insights INSIGHT
Ecosystem Gaps
Carbon removal's development needs supporting infrastructure, including community engagement and measurement/reporting.
Investment across the lifecycle, from seed stage to megaton scale, is also critical.
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Hannah Bebbington is the Head of Deployment at Frontier, an advanced market commitment created in 2022, that aims to purchase $1 billion or more of permanent carbon removal by 2030.
Founded by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, and McKinsey, Frontier has quickly become a leading force in the carbon removal space. Its portfolio includes a "who’s who" of innovators pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in carbon removal—many of whom have been guests on this show.
Cody catches up with Hannah to explore how Frontier’s program is structured, what they’ve learned so far, and her perspective on the state of carbon removal today.
In this episode, we cover:
[2:03] What is Frontier? An intro to its $1B commitment to carbon removal
[7:00] The scale of the carbon removal challenge and future funding needs
[10:42] Gaps in the industry: demand, investment, and measurement
[13:21] Hannah’s background and role as Head of Deployment
[16:10] Frontier’s advanced market commitment model explained
[18:05] How Frontier supports early-stage companies through pre-purchases
[21:32] Tips for startups applying to Frontier’s programs
[27:19] Frontier’s offtake track for scaling larger projects
[30:16] The importance of measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV)
[35:05] Frontier’s criteria for funding: scale, cost, and permanence
[42:14] Microsoft’s role as a leader in carbon removal
[47:24] Key terms in Frontier’s offtake agreements
[55:08] The impact of the data center boom on carbon removal
[57:01] Carbon removal’s bipartisan support and policy outlook
Inevitable