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In the global race to combat climate change, carbon removal technologies are taking center stage. While much attention has focused on cutting-edge solutions like direct air capture or large-scale reforestation, there is a vital yet often overlooked piece of the puzzle: biochar and the waste streams that feed into it.
In a recent deep-dive discussion, four leading experts from Grain Ecosystem, Carbonfuture, Puro.earth, and Carbogenics shed light on how biochar and waste-derived carbon removal could fundamentally reshape the carbon credit landscape – accelerating the carbon removal economy with both environmental and economic benefits.
Why Biochar? The Perfect Middle Ground in Carbon Removal
Jason Dodier, Co-Founder of Grain Ecosystem and a long-time advocate of circular economy innovations, describes biochar as one of the most elegant and practical carbon removal solutions available today. “Biochar offers a nice middle ground,” he explains. It transforms biomass – that would otherwise release carbon back into the atmosphere through decay or combustion – into a durable, stable form of carbon locked away in soil for decades or longer.
Beyond permanence, Jason highlights the simplicity and circularity of biochar. By using secondary biomass and byproducts, biochar integrates seamlessly with existing agricultural and energy systems. It supports anaerobic digestion processes, enhances biogas production, and ultimately enriches soil health while storing carbon. This multi-faceted approach creates a compelling blend of environmental and economic co-benefits, which is crucial for scaling impact.
Biochar: The Gateway Drug to Carbon Markets
Benno Fuchs, COO of Puro.earth, offers a compelling metaphor that captures biochar’s pivotal role in the carbon removal landscape: biochar is a “gateway drug” to the carbon markets. He explains,
“Biochar helps projects and buyers get into the carbon markets by providing a tangible, understandable, and scalable carbon removal solution. It allows for initial price discovery in what is still a very nascent and complex asset class.”
This metaphor highlights how biochar serves as a crucial entry point for both investors and project developers. By offering a relatively accessible and transparent way to generate carbon credits, biochar paves the way for broader participation and innovation in carbon removal.
Benno further stresses that without biochar’s foundational role, many of the larger, more ambitious carbon removal projects currently emerging might not have gained traction. “It’s an incredibly important ‘helper’ – not just for on-the-ground activity, but for financial markets and investor confidence as well,” he adds.
This “gateway drug” framing not only captures biochar’s importance today but also underscores its strategic value in building a robust and scalable carbon removal economy for the future.
Trust and Transparency: The Backbone of Carbon Credit Integrity
While biochar’s potential is immense, the path to widespread adoption hinges on trustworthy, transparent carbon credit systems. Benno Fuchs, COO of Puro.earth, the leading carbon removal crediting platform, underscores the importance of robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) processes.
“Getting to industrial scale means making it easier for projects to prove their carbon removal claims without compromising quality,” Benno says. He points out the intense rigor required to ensure that carbon credits are financially additional-meaning that the carbon removal would not have happened without the incentive provided by carbon finance. This is a challenging but essential balance to avoid perverse incentives where projects might game the system or rely solely on credit revenues without operational viability.
Sebastian Manhart of Carbonfuture elaborates on these complexities, highlighting the heavy documentation and data burdens faced by projects, especially smaller startups. “MRV infrastructure is critical – it’s what builds the trust certificate that buyers and policymakers rely on,” he explains. Leveraging digital technologies like IoT and automation is key to reducing the cost and complexity of verification, making carbon markets more accessible and reliable.
Scaling Up: Financing Challenges and Opportunities
Scaling biochar and other carbon removal solutions from pilot projects to gigaton-scale impact requires innovative financing models. Jason Dodier shares how traditional financing tools fall short for the distributed, smaller-scale nature of biochar pyrolysis units. “We need programmatic, platform-level financing solutions that can aggregate risk and deliver blended capital models,” he argues, drawing parallels to how solar, wind, and geothermal projects matured.
Meanwhile, upfront capital and operational costs remain a hurdle, especially given delays in reimbursement programs like 45Q tax credits in the US. Jason points out the need for creative financial products like factoring or accounts receivable financing to bridge these gaps and enable project cash flow.
Benno adds that rigorous due diligence on investments is much higher here than in other industries due to concerns about greenwashing and market integrity. This underscores the need for clear, transparent standards and trustworthy platforms that can build investor confidence.
Looking Ahead: The Role of Biochar in a Net-Zero Future
While biochar currently accounts for roughly 90% of all carbon removal verified globally, the industry acknowledges it is just one piece of the puzzle. Sebastian Manhart offers a candid perspective: “Biochar is a gateway technology – essential for price discovery and market maturity today – but by 2050, we may see other solutions like direct air capture dominating as electricity becomes cheaper and more abundant.”
Nonetheless, biochar’s readiness, cost-effectiveness, and co-benefits position it as a crucial lever for the next decade. Its ability to transform waste into value while enhancing soil and air quality makes it an attractive proposition across diverse geographies and industries.
Jason echoes the optimism but also emphasizes the policy momentum needed. “We’re seeing bipartisan support in the US for waste-to-value infrastructure, especially in states like California and Rhode Island. Distributed energy solutions combined with carbon removal create compelling economic and environmental wins.”
Benno concludes that biochar’s tangible nature makes it an accessible entry point for investors, buyers, and policymakers alike – a “gateway drug” to carbon markets that will help unlock broader enthusiasm and scale for carbon removal technologies.
Final Thoughts
The conversation between Grain Ecosystem, Carbonfuture, Puro.earth, and Carbogenics highlights that integrating biochar and complex waste streams into carbon credit systems is essential for unlocking the full potential of carbon removal. Achieving trust, transparency, and scalable financing solutions are key challenges that the industry must continue to address.
As the carbon removal economy evolves, biochar stands as both a proven workhorse and a foundation for future innovation – bridging today’s climate action with the ambitious net-zero futures we strive to achieve.
About the Experts:
- Jason Dodier, Co-Founder, Grain Ecosystem
- Sebastian Manhart, Policy Lead, Carbonfuture
- Benno Fuchs, COO, Puro.earth
- Leah Herrgen, Research & Innovation Manager, Carbogenics
Listen to the podcast HERE
