| Criteria | Description |
|---|---|
| Durability | Stores carbon permanently (>1,000 years) |
| Physical footprint | Takes advantage of carbon sinks and sources that do not compete for arable land |
| Cost | Has a path to being affordable at scale (<$100 per ton) |
| Capacity | Has a path to being a meaningful part of the carbon removal solution portfolio (>0.5 gigatons per year) |
| Net negativity | Maximizes net removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide |
| Additionality | Results in net new carbon removed, rather than taking credit for removal that was already going to occur |
| Verifiability | Has a path to using scientifically rigorous and transparent methods for monitoring and verification |
| Safety and legality | Is working towards the highest standards of safety, compliance and local environmental outcomes; actively mitigates risks and negative environmental and other externalities on an ongoing basis |
Funding tracks
To support technologies at different stages of development, Frontier purchases high quality, durable carbon removal through two funding tracks. Each track has its own eligibility criteria, diligence process, and funding amounts.
Track 1: Prepurchase
For early-stage suppliers piloting new technologies, Frontier offers low-volume prepurchase agreements to accelerate development. Suppliers receive funds upfront, before tons have been delivered.
Frontier accepts and reviews prepurchase applications on a rolling basis and will announce purchases twice per year.
You might be a good fit if:
You address at least one of Frontier’s prepurchase focus areas.
You have lab-scale performance and preliminary stability data showing a proof of concept.
Your Measurement, Reporting, Verification (MRV) approach is outlined, risks are identified, and a method is presented for reducing MRV uncertainty.
Technoeconomic Analysis (TEA) is based on a process flow diagram and mass and energy balance.
You can deliver first tons in the next ~1-3 years.
Track 2: Offtake
For larger suppliers preparing to scale, Frontier facilitates offtake agreements. These are legally binding contracts to buy future tons of carbon removal at an agreed price if and when delivered. This purchase track will make up the bulk of Frontier’s spend.
Frontier accepts offtake applications on a rolling basis.
You might be a good fit if:
Your technology has been validated at the bench or preferably small pilot scale.
Your MRV protocol addresses all key pathway uncertainties and establishes a plan to further reduce uncertainties.
A high-fidelity TEA based on a pre-FEED design or similar is presented.
You can deliver meaningful volume (10k tons or more) within the next 5 years.
If you’re not sure which track is right for you, please get in touch.
How we evaluate projects
We use four lenses to make purchasing decisions:
Approach
Does the carbon removal approach meet our target criteria?
Execution
Can this team deliver on the proposal, given where the technology is today?
Portfolio
Does this purchase help us build a diverse, risk-adjusted portfolio of carbon removal approaches?
Acceleration
Will a purchase now be catalytic to the supplier and broader field?
Purchase criteria
Purchasing targets
Frontier is laser-focused on making purchases today that increase the likelihood that we will have a low-cost, gigaton-scale portfolio of carbon removal in the future. Since Frontier began, we’ve explored which approaches have the highest potential, what makes a great project, and how to most effectively spend our funds. The pathway points-of-view below reflect this thinking and list the areas we are prioritizing for purchases this year.
Frequently asked questions
How frequently does Frontier make prepurchase and offtake selections?
For 2025 prepurchases, Frontier is accepting applications and conducting reviews on a rolling basis and expects to make two purchase announcements throughout the year. For offtakes, Frontier reviews projects and makes purchases on a regular, rolling basis.
I’m considering applying. How should I proceed?
Read this page and our pathway points-of-view to familiarize yourself with our purchase criteria and confirm you are a good fit for one of our purchasing programs. If you have further questions, email the Frontier team here. In that email, please share what you’re working on, your project timing, and your questions for Frontier. Due to the large number of emails we receive, we cannot respond to every email. If we think there could be a potential fit, we will follow up.
Does Frontier provide guidance on how to submit a competitive application?
Yes. We offer application support sessions for projects that are invited to apply, with the goal of helping every candidate submit as compelling an application as possible. You can also review our pathway points-of-view to understand what we look for in great projects.
Which type of technologies are out of scope for Frontier?
The following approaches, while valuable climate initiatives, are not currently in focus for Frontier purchasing based on our purchase criteria:
- Afforestation and reforestation
- Biochar
- Biogas or ethanol + CCS
- Biotic marine CDR
- Coastal restoration (blue carbon)
- Organic soil carbon
- Shallow biomass burial
- Terrestrial biomass sinking
- Projects that avoid the emission of carbon dioxide, such as carbon capture and storage from anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide
See this document for context on rationale.
I think I meet Frontier’s CDR criteria. Is a purchase guaranteed?
No. We evaluate purchase decisions using the four lenses described above. While we conduct a formal scientific review process and do our best to be as objective as possible, this field is nascent with real uncertainties. We use both data and judgment to make decisions, with the goal of maturing a portfolio of solutions to get permanent carbon removal on its best possible trajectory.
What does a Frontier purchase agreement look like?
You can view examples of our prepurchase contract template here and our offtake contract template here.
How can I stay up to date on future purchase cycles?
We’ll share updates on this page. You can also join our mailing list by filling out this short form.