Industries
Carbon removal
What changes this industry: bio-solutions with evidence, technologies, suppliers and open money.
Overview of the industry
Residues that are burned, dumped or landfilled, and soils, manure and water treated with fossil-based or chemical products — and biochar, the bio-based product that turns residues into durable soil carbon, a soil and compost amendment, a sorbent and a sellable carbon-removal credit.
Biochar as a fertilizer/soil improver falls under fertilizer rules (EU FPR 2019/1009, CMC 14 pyrolysis and gasification materials); feed use needs feed authorization; carbon-removal credits follow registry methodologies and certification (e.g. European Biochar Certificate). The articles are overviews, not project designs.
Articles#
| ID | Problem → alternative | Replaces | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| CR01 | Residues → pyrolysis biochar for soils and carbon-removal credits | Open burning, dumping and landfilling of residues; dirty kilns | Replace / Partial |
| CR02 | Compost, manure, feed, water → biochar additive and sorbent | Coal-based activated carbon (low-demand duties), chemical binders, part of clay binders | Partial |
Related articles elsewhere#
- Crop-residue burning: WC01; pyrolysis kilns: EQ03
- Blue carbon and reforestation: ecology (topic
carbon-blue-carbon)
Reviewed but SKIPPED (no proven bio-alternative)#
| Substance / use | Hazard | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Enhanced rock weathering | — | A carbon-removal route, but mineral, not biological — outside this catalogue’s frame |
| Soil-carbon credits from practice change alone | — | Measurement and permanence are contested; covered as a co-benefit in NU03/A11, not as a product |
| BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture) | — | Industrial-scale CCS plants; no supplier in the index |
What it replaces 2
| D1 | Biochar as a composting and manure additive, a feed additive and a low-cost sorbent for water and soil treatment — instead of coal-based activated carbon, chemical odour and ammonia binders, and part of clay toxin binders Replaces: Coal- or fossil-based activated carbon for low-demanding sorption duties; chemical odour/ammonia control in litter and compost; part of the clay … | 4 | AGROCHEM |
| D1 | Biochar made by clean pyrolysis of crop, forestry and processing residues — used as a soil amendment and sold as durable carbon removal — instead of open burning, dumping or landfilling of those residues Replaces: Open burning of straw, husks, shells and prunings; dumping and landfilling of processing residues; traditional earth-kiln charcoal making without gas … | 13 | AGROCHEM |
Technologies 16
| BECCS Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage — burning biomass for power or heat and permanently storing the resulting biogenic CO2 — is moving from single … | CDR & carbon management |
| Bio-cementation & MICP materials Microbes and mineral carbonation bind aggregate into cement at room temperature — replacing the 1,500-degree kiln that makes Portland cement responsible for … | CDR & carbon management |
| Biochar carbon removal Pyrolysing biomass into stable biochar — or fast-pyrolysis bio-oil injected underground — turns atmospheric carbon into a durable, monetisable climate asset, … | CDR & carbon management |
| Biochar pyrolysis equipment & process The reactor and balance-of-plant hardware that carbonises biomass into biochar plus heat and power — modular continuous carbonisers, … | CDR & carbon management |
| Biological carbon capture & utilization (bio-CCU: gas fermentation, CO2-to-protein, e-fuels) Turning captured CO2 into fuels, proteins, polymers and methanol via microbial gas fermentation, engineered microbes and algae — a carbon-utilization value … | CDR & carbon management |
| Blue carbon Carbon captured by marine ecosystems — mangroves, seagrass, salt marshes and cultivated seaweed/kelp — and the emerging industry of ocean farming, Sargassum … | Blue carbon & restoration |
| Blue-carbon habitat restoration Contracted ecological engineering that rebuilds seagrass meadows, salt marshes, oyster reefs and barrier dunes as a paid restoration service — distinct from … | Blue carbon & restoration |
| Carbon farming Programs and marketplaces that pay farmers for verified soil carbon sequestration through regenerative practices — after the 2024 voluntary-carbon-market … | Agri-tech & precision |
| Carbon markets & biofinancing Carbon markets, Cap-and-Trade systems (ETS), and biofinancing transform bioeconomy ecosystem services into tradable financial assets, driving decarbonization … | Finance & investment |
| CO2 valorization via microalgae Capturing industrial CO2 emissions using microalgae to produce valuable biomass, biofuels, and bioplastics. | Marine biotech |
| DAC with biointegration (hybrid bio-DAC) Direct air capture with bio-integration — carbonic-anhydrase-functionalized sorbents and engineered-microalgae photobioreactors that cut DAC regeneration energy … | CDR & carbon management |
| Ecosystem restoration The science and business of rebuilding degraded land — post-wildfire reforestation with drone seed-pods and biomass-burial carbon, arid-land Cocoon planting, … | Ecosystem restoration |
| Engineered microbial carbon capture Gas-fermentation microbes that turn CO, CO₂ and H₂-bearing off-gases into ethanol and single-cell protein — acetogens, methanotrophs and hydrogenotrophs run at … | CDR & carbon management |
| Enhanced rock weathering Crushed silicate rock — usually basalt — spread on farmland to accelerate the natural weathering reaction that draws down atmospheric CO2 into stable dissolved … | CDR & carbon management |
| Ocean alkalinity enhancement Accelerating the ocean's natural carbon sink by adding alkaline minerals to seawater to safely sequester CO2. | CDR & carbon management |
| Soil carbon MRV The measurement, reporting and verification technology behind soil-carbon credits — in-field VisNIR spectroscopy probes, remote-sensing-plus-ML digital soil … | Agri-tech & precision |
Opportunities 1
| Grant | Carbon farming innovation and scale-up European Commission | Sep 23, 2027 351 days |