Arbor: The Limitless Potential of Carbon-Negative Power

Meeting Growing Energy Demands While Removing Carbon from the Atmosphere

If you’ve been following the headlines, you’ve likely seen concerns about the grid’s ability to meet the surging demands from AI data centers, reshoring manufacturing, and electrification across sectors like transportation and buildings. Wood Mackenzie states, “U.S. utilities typically received one or two large customer requests—meaning 20 megawatts or more—per year. Now, they may get one or two of those requests every week.

Utilities, used to flat demand, are finding these numbers tough to keep up with. With growth now hitting 2-3%, they’re facing backlogs like never before—and planning new infrastructure can take 5-10 years. “There’s a shakeup happening in the power markets,” says Mike Schroepfer. “We’re now seeing companies with big power needs and deep pockets, which is better for clean energy development than a cash-strapped grid just trying to replace dirty power plants.”

As energy demands rise and the push for net-zero intensifies, balancing these priorities has become a core debate within climate circles, across industries, and in government. Trade-offs were a focal point at New York Climate Week and are increasingly discussed in broader contexts.

Meanwhile, Arbor is showing that we don’t have to choose between meeting rising energy demand and reducing emissions—they’re doing both. Their system generates clean power while sequestering CO₂. This bold yet practical approach uses existing technology in new ways, showing how we can grow, sustain the clean energy transition, and remove carbon—all at once.

Scaling Carbon-Negative Power

Arbor cofounder and CEO, Brad Hartwig, once saw his career taking him to space. However, joining the emergency response to California’s wildfires in 2020, he had a wake-up call to the urgency of the climate crisis. After studying IPCC reports, Brad became intrigued by bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)—a promising solution yet to be fully innovated.

The IPCC estimates that between 100 and 1,000 billion tons of CO₂ need to be removed by 2100. Many current carbon removal solutions are either too costly or difficult to scale. Direct air capture (DAC) is promising but remains expensive and energy-intensive.

Arbor flips the script. Starting from a clean slate, Brad and his co-founder Andres Garcia-Clark applied advances in rocket propulsion technology—pioneered by their team at SpaceX—to create a system that sequesters atmospheric carbon and generates clean energy. “We’re not just creating power—we’re removing past emissions with a system that can scale to meet future energy needs,” Brad says.

The company’s system converts organic waste—such as crop residue, food waste, and other debris—into fuel, generating clean electricity while separating CO₂ for permanent underground storage. This approach lets photosynthesis do the heavy lifting of pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which Arbor’s process then sequesters. Otherwise, left to decompose or burn, the organic waste would release CO₂—or, in extreme cases, trigger wildfires, releasing billions of tons of emissions.

Fast Iteration, Faster Learning

Arbor’s unique engineering culture draws from rocket science and power generation expertise.  The team employs SpaceX-inspired first principles thinking—constantly questioning assumptions, avoiding over-engineering, and pushing for rapid iteration. “We’re always looking for the fastest route to data,” Brad explains. “For example, we needed test data for an oxy-combustion approach. Using materials from Home Depot, we built a model for just $2,000. Speed is everything—the faster we get data, the faster we make decisions.”

Arbor’s focus on speed and efficiency extends to its system design. Using modular design and 3D printing has drastically reduced costs and deployment time.  “Traditional bioenergy systems are expensive due to on-site construction,” Brad notes. Our 90% prefabricated modules result in highly efficient systems that are much cheaper,  smaller, and operational in months, not years.”

Rapid Deployment in a Fast Growing Market

Deloitte’s 2024 power and utilities industry outlook predicts that U.S. electricity demand will triple by 2050. Major tech companies looking to hit ambitious emissions reduction targets while securing 24/7 power for data centers have limited options. Fossil fuels with carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen, wind and solar paired with storage, and geothermal have high potential but come with trade-offs. This is why Arbor’s modular power stations stand out for their readiness, rapid deployment, and scalability.

Speed is everything—the faster we get data, the faster we make decisions.

Brad Hartwig, Cofounder and CEO of Arbor

By 2030, Arbor aims to generate 100 MW of electricity while removing nearly 2 million tons of CO₂ annually. With the global energy market expected to reach $1.3 trillion annually, Arbor’s ability to quickly scale while providing reliable, carbon-negative power positions them as a strong player in this evolving landscape. A recently announced deal with Microsoft showcases Arbor’s potential. The company has secured a contract to remove 25,000 tons of CO₂ starting in 2027 while generating enough clean energy to power 4,000 homes annually. Arbor was also named a winner of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Carbon Negative Shot, the U.S. government’s first major carbon dioxide removal effort—further validating their approach.

The AI revolution and industrial onshoring are long-term trends creating a strong customer base and opportunities for companies like Arbor. As Mike Schroepfer notes, “The availability of cheap, clean energy is the biggest constraint on human progress right now. Unlocking abundant clean energy could make technologies like CO₂-to-jet fuel or decarbonizing steel and concrete viable at scale. We know how to do these things—clean energy is the foundation that will make them possible.”