Industry News
A curated read on the funding, deals, and developments that actually matter across the global biochar, carbon credit, and biomass energy markets — from India to the EU to the Americas, with sources so you can dig in yourself.
Last updated August 5, 2026
Carbon-removal developer Varaha secured $20 million as the first tranche of a $45M Series B led by WestBridge Capital, funding measurement, R&D, and international expansion. Varaha runs biochar, afforestation, regenerative-agriculture, and enhanced-rock-weathering projects and holds offtake agreements with Microsoft, Google, and Lufthansa — following a $30M Mirova investment in late 2025.
Learn more: Carbon CreditsIndia-based developer ProClime signed an MoU with Japan's Cadira Capital Management to mobilize an initial $10 million to build seven biochar facilities across six Indian states, converting invasive-species, agri-residue, and forest waste into carbon-removal credits, soil-amendment biochar, and bio-oil. The plants are projected to generate roughly 35,000 CDR credits annually, certified under Puro.earth and Isometric.
Learn more: Build + Operate a PlantIndia-based developer Equilibrium and Swiss financier Altitude signed an eight-year offtake for roughly 180,000 tonnes of biochar carbon removal, reported at about $25 million. The agreement funds scaling of Equilibrium's Maharashtra production from ~15,000 to ~22,500 tCO₂e per year — a clear example of long-term demand underwriting new Indian plant construction.
Japan's Green Carbon passed an Isometric audit for its Kapadvanj (Gujarat) industrial biochar facility — a first for a Japanese company — advancing toward credit issuance in August 2026. Four Indian plants, run with partners The Varhad Group and Excellent Enfab, are expected to supply roughly 300,000 tonnes of high-quality CDR credits over ten years.
The European Investment Bank and Eni signed a 15-year, €500 million loan to convert units of Eni's Sannazzaro refinery into a biorefinery using Ecofining technology, plus a pre-treatment plant for used cooking oils, animal fats, and agri-food waste. From 2028 it will produce roughly 550,000 tonnes a year of HVO diesel and SAF biojet — the second such EIB–Eni deal after a €500M Livorno agreement in 2025.
Learn more: Biofuel ApplicationsBolivia-based Exomad Green — one of the world's largest durable-CDR suppliers — agreed to deliver 105,000 tonnes of permanent biochar carbon removal to Berlin's Senken over 2026–2028, targeting aviation buyers and bringing the two firms' total contracted volume to nearly $30 million. Exomad expects to deliver roughly 300,000 tonnes of CO₂ removal in 2026.
Learn more: Carbon CreditsCanadian biocarbon firm CHAR Technologies announced a planned acquisition of biocarbon production assets in Québec — a facility, IP, and a 62,500-tonne offtake — to expand its high-temperature pyrolysis biochar and biocoal-pellet business, part of a broader consolidation wave among North American biochar producers.
BioCarbon Australia secured AU$4.8 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to move from pilot to commercial scale at Bulahdelah, NSW, producing biochar for steelmaking after successful 3,000-tonne steel trials.
Carbogenics raised $3 million in combined equity and grant funding to scale its CreChar biochar product and expand into the US and UK. Backers included Dangerous Ventures, Green Angel Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, and the University of Edinburgh's venture fund, with grants from Innovate UK and New Mexico state bodies.
Impact investor Oikocredit made a first disbursement of $2.5 million to biochar producer NetZero to scale mid-size production in rural Brazil, which dominates Latin American biochar volume aided by its Bio-Inputs Law incentives. NetZero previously raised roughly $19.5M from STOA in 2024.
Learn more: Build + Operate a PlantA $12 million project is backing Africa's first large-scale industrial biochar carbon-removal and biochar-fertilizer facility, funded by Stack Carbon Investments (Uganda), Jiaxing Tongao (China), TerraCapX (Norway), and Greenchar Climate Solutions (Singapore). Capacity is about 30 tonnes of biochar per day, processing roughly 10 million tonnes of agri-waste over 20 years. Operations are targeted for Q3 2026.
Learn more: Build + Operate a PlantThe Capital Regional District received C$7 million from a federal infrastructure fund to introduce biochar/carbonization technology — proposed for the Hartland Landfill — converting biosolids into stable, carbon-sequestering biochar. Detailed plans and proponent selection go to the board in 2027.
The European Commission adopted the first delegated act under the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF), establishing methodologies for permanent removals including biochar carbon capture. Commission analysis estimates €2.4–6.7 billion in purchases may be needed over 2025–2030 to hit a 5 Mt/yr industrial-removals target, with the first CRCF units expected in late 2026/2027 — a major demand signal for biochar financing.
Learn more: Carbon CreditsThe Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market approved three biochar methodologies at once — CAR's U.S. & Canada Biochar (V1.0), Isometric's Biochar Production and Storage (V1.0), and Verra's VM0044 (V1.2). Together they are expected to bring roughly 750,000 biochar carbon credits to market in 2026, with about 40% already pre-sold — the credibility signal institutional buyers had been waiting for.
Learn more: Carbon CreditsAverage biochar credit pricing hit $164/tonne in 2025, up 25% from $131 in 2023. Microsoft purchased 129,000 tonnes in a single quarter, and biochar carbon removal accounted for 89% of durable CDR deliveries in Q2 2025. Analysts caution that a widening quality gap — driven by lifecycle accounting and feedstock transparency — will increasingly separate premium credits from the rest.
Learn more: Carbon CreditsHolcim UK and Canary Wharf Group produced concrete with a projected -14 kgCO₂e/m³ footprint by embedding biochar made from coffee grounds and coppiced wood. After a 2025 test slab, they poured two-metre-deep raft slabs on a live London development — full-scale proof that biochar concrete works well outside the lab.
Learn more: Biochar ApplicationsThe global biochar market reached roughly $860M in 2025 and is projected at $970M for 2026, growing ~13% annually toward $2.7–3.5B by the mid-2030s. Supply is the constraint: 62% of high-quality 2025 capacity was already locked into contracts, with another 28% secured through 2026. The EU's Carbon Removal Certification Framework goes operational in 2026.
Learn more: Build + Operate a PlantUSDA NRCS pays for biochar application under Conservation Practice Standard 336, with rates varying by state — Delaware lists $201.87 per cubic yard, and the Delta region estimates about $1,700 per acre for full application. USDA invested $120M across six biochar initiatives in late 2024. Applications are accepted year-round with state-specific ranking deadlines.
Learn more: Buy Biochar & BiofuelScott County, MN approved a facility slated to produce 8,600 tons of biochar per year, while the state pollution control agency is updating its stormwater manual with new biochar guidance. One Minnesota biochar-sand stormwater basin is estimated to remove 22,000 lbs of sediment, 202 lbs of nitrogen, and 50 lbs of phosphorus annually.
Learn more: Biochar ApplicationsSAF production reached 1.3 billion liters in 2024 — about 0.3% of global jet fuel — still dominated (95%+) by hydroprocessed fats and oils. The DOE's SAF Grand Challenge targets 3 billion gallons by 2030. Lignocellulosic routes from woody biomass and residues are the next frontier, though cost ($1.85–$6/gallon) and feedstock supply remain the bottleneck.
Learn more: Biofuel ApplicationsOur blog breaks down what these developments mean for producers, developers, and investors in the biomass economy.
Read the Blog