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Funding tracks

Frontier supports carbon removal technologies at different stages of development through two funding tracks. Each track has its own eligibility criteria, diligence process, and funding amounts.

Track 1: Innovation

For early-stage teams piloting new technologies or working to solve critical CDR research gaps, Frontier offers prepurchases of future carbon removal tons and research and development (R&D) grants.

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Frontier accepts and reviews Innovation track applications on a rolling basis and will announce selections twice per year.

You might be a good fit if you:

Prepurchases
- Address at least one of Frontier's target innovation areas.
- Have lab-scale performance and preliminary stability data showing proof of concept.
- Have a Technoeconomic Analysis (TEA) based on a process flow diagram and mass and energy balance.
- Have a Measurement, Reporting, Verification (MRV) approach outlined that identifies risks and plans to reduce uncertainty.
- Can deliver first tons within ~1-2 years.
R&D grants
- Have a defined research scope and goal that addresses at least one of Frontier's target innovation areas.
- Have secured the staff, space, and equipment to execute your proposed project.
- Can achieve results within ~18 months and agree to share your findings transparently with the field.

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-upon price if and when delivered. This purchase track makes up the bulk of Frontier's spend.

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Frontier accepts offtake applications on a rolling basis.

You might be a good fit if you:

Are developing technology that has been validated at small pilot scale in real-world conditions.
Are using a robust MRV protocol to quantify and verify tons removed, and ideally have delivered tons on registry.
Have a high-fidelity TEA based on a pre-FEED design or similar.
Can deliver meaningful carbon removal volume (10k tons or more) within the next 5 years.

If you're not sure which track is right for you, please see the section below for more details or get in touch.

Innovation vs. Offtake tracks

Please use the table below to make sure the track you're interested in is the right one for your organization.

	Track 1: Innovation	Track 2: Offtake
Summary	Low-volume prepurchase agreements or R&D grants to support early-stage project teams piloting new technologies and/or advancing research on Frontier's target innovation areas	Larger offtake agreements to support more mature suppliers preparing to scale
Purchase amount	~US$250K$1.5M	~US$10M$50M
Purchase structure	Prepurchases: Paid upfront, before carbon removal tons have been delivered R&D grants: Payments up front and upon delivery of research milestones	Commitment to buy future carbon removal tons at an agreed-upon price if and when delivered
Frontier expectations and risk tolerance	Thorough diligence, higher risk tolerance than offtakes	More extensive diligence, lower risk tolerance than Innovation projects
Application cadence	Pre-applications accepted on a rolling basis	Applications accepted on a rolling basis
Application deadline	No deadline, but we encourage you to submit your pre-application as early as possible	No deadline, but we encourage you to submit your expression of interest as early as possible
Expected status across evaluation criteria for CDR purchases
	*Track 1: Innovation - Prepurchase**	Track 2: Offtake
Performance data	There is lab-scale performance and preliminary stability data (preferably for days or more) showing proof of concept that the company's approach removes CO from the atmosphere.	Tech has been validated, preferably at or beyond small pilot scale, with data establishing performance and stability baseline. Roadmap defined for how the company will narrow gaps between current data and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) assumptions.
Monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV)	Clear MRV approach outlined. For CDR pathways with lower verification confidence levels (VCLs), risks are identified and a method presented for how new data will be generated to reduce quantification uncertainty.	Company has a CDR protocol and is in discussion with one or more credit issuers. Volume offered is discounted based on identified MRV uncertainties (if any) and we have high confidence in the ability to quantify volumes purchased.
Techno-economic analysis (TEA)	A TEA based on a process flow diagram and mass and energy balance, using realistic engineering values (or similar) for equipment pricing, first principles estimates of performance, and basic assumptions for utility costs (format provided).	A high-fidelity TEA based on a pre-FEED design or similar, including a full process model. Key performance assumptions identified and validated with data. Ideally including quotes for major equipment, utilities, and O&M costs for specific locations. Confidence committing to a set price in a multi-year contract.
Ecosystem safety (e.g., impact to soils and oceans)	Compelling case for why this CDR project does not cause additional ecosystem damage, based on experimental data and models. Company identifies potential risks and presents a plan to generate new data to confirm ecosystem safety at scale across early deployments.	Compelling case for why this CDR project does not cause additional ecosystem damage, based on experimental data. Ideally, the supplier has published ecosystem impact data and responded to feedback from the scientific community regarding potential risks. There is manageable remaining uncertainty around ecosystem impact, and the company will actively manage deployments using appropriate ongoing ecosystem monitoring.
Community engagement	Clear plans to collect input from stakeholders impacted by the project at early stages and to improve deployment based on that input.	Has proactively engaged stakeholders and revised deployment plans accordingly. Has or is developing a community benefits plan and an ongoing process to collect and act on community input.
Team and operational capability	There is demonstrated expertise on the team for initial development work. Company has a hiring and/or partnering plan for other aspects of the project.	Company has experienced technical and commercial staff and project partners are identified and committed.
Business strategy and financing	Key business case assumptions and risks identified. Preliminary plan established for next steps if the project is successful.	Company can define how the project fits within their strategy and the CDR market and policy landscape. Team has a credible path to securing financing and reaching a final investment decision. Company has supply chain, manufacturing, and risk management strategies.

*For R&D applications under Frontier's Innovation program, we understand that status requirements can be unique to each application. We outline general expectations around R&D applications in more detail here, but broadly expect R&D teams to: clearly outline alignment with at least one Frontier target innovation area, have focused research goals, and demonstrate that your team has the technical expertise to execute the intended research.

How Frontier evaluates projects

Frontier uses four lenses to make purchasing decisions:

Approach

Does the carbon removal approach meet Frontier's 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

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 & regulatory	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

Purchasing targets

Frontier is laser-focused on making purchases today that increase the likelihood of a low-cost, gigaton-scale carbon removal portfolio in the future. Since Frontier began, weve 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 Frontier is prioritizing for purchases this year.

Frequently asked questions

How frequently does Frontier make Innovation track and offtake selections?

For 2026 prepurchases and R&D grants, 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 applications and makes purchases on a regular, rolling basis.

I'm considering applying. How should I proceed?

Confirm you are a good fit for one of our purchasing programs by reading this page, our purchasing perspectives, and our project evaluation approach. 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 Frontier receives, 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. Frontier offers 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 purchasing perspectives to understand what Frontier looks for in great projects by CDR pathway.

Which approaches are out of scope for Frontier?

The following approaches, while valuable climate initiatives, are not currently in scope for Frontier purchasing because they do not meet our purchase criteria based on our learnings thus far:

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 more 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.