Biochar carbon removal

01Overview and value chain#

Markers EC: EU CRC Regulation & Puro.earth Biochar Methodology | OECD: Carbon management | Regulator: EPA (USA), ADEME (France), NEA (China)

Biochar carbon removal pyrolyses lignocellulosic biomass at roughly 300-700 °C in the absence of oxygen, converting a fraction of its carbon into a stable solid (biochar) that resists decay for centuries to millennia while retaining soil-fertility value. Charm Industrial secured a 61,500-tonne carbon-dioxide-removal purchase plus $20 million in debt financing and a multi-year JPMorgan offtake agreement to scale biomass carbon removal; Novocarbo sells certified biochar carbon-removal credits for net-zero buyers; and Carbonfuture, the world’s leading durable-CDR registry, partners with Puro.earth whose biochar methodology underpins the trade. Voluntary-market biochar credits have historically cleared in the $100-300 per tonne CO2 range, making biochar one of the few CDR routes already delivering tonne-scale, revenue-grade removal today.

The key directions of biochar carbon removal are:

1. Slow pyrolysis biochar for soil and CDR (Slow-Pyrolysis Biochar): continuous or batch pyrolysis of biomass into biochar plus heat, applied as a soil amendment that locks carbon for centuries — Novocarbo and Carbofex.
2. Fast-pyrolysis bio-oil injection (Fast-Pyrolysis Bio-Oil): rapid pyrolysis to a liquid bio-oil pumped into geologic formations for permanent removal — Charm Industrial.
3. Biochar carbon credits as a climate asset (Carbon Credits): measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of stored carbon and its sale as certified removal credits — Carbonfuture and the Puro.earth biochar methodology.
4. Circular agriculture and soil amendment (Biochar Soil Amendment): biochar returned to farmland, nurseries and remediation sites for yield, nutrient retention and contaminant control, often co-located with district heat — Carbofex.

Sectoral value chain#

[biomass / residue] ──> [pyrolysis reactor] ──> [biochar / bio-oil]
                                │
                        (heat + stable carbon)
                                │
                                ▼
[carbon credit] <─── [soil / geologic storage] <─────┘

Value chain levels#

Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:

• Continuous slow-pyrolysis reactors (Continuous Slow Pyrolysis): Carbofex-style reactors co-produce biochar and district heat, coupling carbon removal to municipal energy supply.
• Fast-pyrolysis bio-oil injection (Bio-Oil Injection): Charm Industrial’s rapid pyrolysis yields a bio-oil pumped underground for permanent, measurable removal.
• Puro.earth biochar methodology (Biochar MRV): the registry methodology that quantifies stable carbon and issues tradeable biochar removal credits via Carbonfuture.

02US#

The US leads revenue-grade biomass carbon removal, anchored by Charm Industrial’s fast-pyrolysis bio-oil route and a deep pool of corporate CDR buyers.

Charm bio-oil CDR, corporate offtake, EPA oversight#

• Charm Industrial: fast pyrolysis converts biomass into a bio-oil that is pumped into geologic formations for permanent removal; the company secured a 61,500-tonne CDR purchase, $20 million in debt financing and a multi-year JPMorgan financing and offtake agreement to scale.
• Corporate CDR buyers: Frontier, Microsoft, Stripe and JPMorgan among others anchor demand, paying premium per-tonne prices that make biomass CDR the largest revenue-grade removal category shipping today.
• EPA oversight: bio-oil injection and biochar application are governed under EPA environmental rules, with voluntary-carbon-market methodologies setting the MRV for credits.

03CN#

China runs a large biomass-char (生物质炭) industry tied to agriculture and soil remediation, with biochar carbon-sequestration materials (生物炭固碳材料) emerging as a CDR product class.

agricultural biochar, soil remediation, emerging CDR materials#

• Biomass-char industry: domestic producers convert crop straw and forestry residues into biochar for soil amendment, nutrient retention and remediation, tracked in national industry reports (生物质炭行业分析, 2025-2026).
• Biochar carbon-sequestration materials: a growing 固碳材料 product class positions biochar as a carbon-storage material, reflecting rising CDR interest aligned with national climate targets.
• NEA and climate policy: biochar’s carbon-storage role is increasingly framed within China’s carbon-management and renewable-energy policy, though formal biochar-CDR credit issuance is less developed than European registries.

04EU#

Europe anchors certified biochar CDR — German pyrolysis producers, the Puro.earth/Carbonfuture credit infrastructure, and Finnish biochar-plus-heat plants.

Novocarbo, Carbonfuture, Carbofex, EU CRC#

• Novocarbo (Germany): operates pyrolysis plants producing biochar and certified biochar carbon-removal credits for net-zero buyers, branding its output as durable carbon-removal products.
• Carbonfuture (Germany): the world’s leading durable-CDR registry and marketplace, partnering with Puro.earth to issue biochar removal credits under a standardised MRV methodology.
• Carbofex (Finland): continuous slow-pyrolysis reactors co-produce biochar and heat, coupling carbon removal to municipal district heating and circular agriculture.

05Leading companies and research institutes#

06Tech stack and innovations#

The stack couples thermochemical carbonisation, stable-carbon geologic or soil storage, and registry-grade MRV into a revenue-positive removal chain.

1. Slow and continuous pyrolysis (Slow Pyrolysis):
   • Carbofex-style continuous reactors pyrolyse biomass at 300-700 °C, co-producing biochar and heat that feeds municipal district heating, so removal is coupled to energy revenue.
   • Novocarbo operates pyrolysis plants whose biochar output is sold both as a soil product and as certified carbon-removal credits.
2. Fast-pyrolysis bio-oil injection (Fast Pyrolysis):
   • Charm Industrial’s rapid pyrolysis converts biomass into a bio-oil that is pumped into geologic formations, delivering permanent, measurable removal at tonne scale.
   • a 61,500-tonne CDR purchase and $20 million in debt financing, backed by a JPMorgan offtake, scale the bio-oil route toward industrial volumes.
3. Biochar MRV and credit infrastructure (Carbon Credits):
   • Carbonfuture’s registry and the Puro.earth biochar methodology quantify the durable carbon stored in biochar and issue tradeable removal credits, turning a soil amendment into a monetisable climate asset.
   • voluntary-market biochar credits clearing in the $100-300 per tonne CO2 range make biochar the largest revenue-grade CDR category already shipping.

07Value chains and production pipelines#

Industrial pipeline of a biochar carbon-removal plant (EU CRC, Puro.earth biochar methodology)#

┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Feedstock preparation  │ ───> │ 2. Pyrolysis              │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
                                                  │
                                                  ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Application & storage  │ <─── │ 3. Product recovery       │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 5. MRV & credit issuance  │ ───> │ 6. Off-take & monetising  │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘

Stage 1: Feedstock preparation

Forestry and crop residues, green waste or energy crops are received, dried and sized; Charm Industrial and Novocarbo draw on regional biomass supply chains, and China’s producers convert crop straw and forestry residues into pyrolysis feedstock.

Stage 2: Pyrolysis

Biomass is heated at 300-700 °C without oxygen — Carbofex’s continuous slow-pyrolysis reactors co-produce biochar and district heat, Novocarbo’s plants make biochar for credits, and Charm Industrial’s fast pyrolysis yields a bio-oil stream.

Stage 3: Product recovery

Biochar is quenched, ground and stabilised into a merchant soil product; Charm Industrial’s bio-oil is condensed and prepared for geologic injection; co-product syngas supplies process heat.

Stage 4: Application and storage

Biochar is applied to farmland, nurseries or remediation sites as a soil amendment locking carbon for centuries, or — in Charm Industrial’s route — bio-oil is pumped into geologic formations for permanent removal.

Stage 5: MRV and credit issuance

Stored carbon is quantified under the Puro.earth biochar methodology and Carbonfuture’s registry, which issue certified carbon-removal credits with a documented durability and tonnage.

Stage 6: Off-take and monetising

Credits are sold to corporate net-zero buyers (Frontier, Microsoft, JPMorgan) and biochar products are sold to agriculture and remediation markets, realising the climate-asset value of the stored carbon.