Biochar Carbon Removal Market Snapshot

Highlights

A total of 3.04 million tonnes of biochar carbon removal (BCR) credits have been contracted between 2022 and 2025-H1, with 1.6 million tonnes sold in the first half of 2025 alone. The average volume bought by a purchaser in a given year has increased, from 542 tonnes in 2022 to 762 tonnes in H1 of 2025.
Deliveries have grown rapidly, accounting for a total of 658 thousand tonnes of BCR delivered since the start of 2022, while retirements have also surged, with 302 thousand tonnes of BCR retired by the end of Q2 2025. Both deliveries and retirements have approximately doubled each year since the start of 2022.
Microsoft, Google, BCG, and JPMorgan lead as the top purchasers of BCR, accounting for 57% of total BCR purchases, while Exomad Green stands out as the leading supplier, accounting for 60% of all BCR credits sold since 2022. The top 4 suppliers of BCR by tonnes sold were also among the top suppliers by tonnes delivered.
Four of the top BCR purchasers, Swiss Re, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), Tide Platform, and Nasdaq stand out for choosing almost exclusively BCR in their CDR purchases.
BCR is by far the most common removal method purchased in contracted credit sales, with 290 unique purchasers — almost five times more than the second most popular removal method.
Based on BCR pricing from CDR.fyi 2024 Year in Review, the market for BCR grew from $14.6M in 2022, to $33.9M in 2023, and $181.5M in 2024. This represents a Combined Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 131.6%.

Analysis

Since CDR.fyi’s first recorded CDR orders in 2019, biochar carbon removal (BCR) has been the undisputed delivery leader amongst CDR methods. In this report, the CDR.fyi team analyzed the dynamics that have shaped the supply and demand for BCR credits. We consider biochar in its entirety rather than segmenting by industrial vs artisanal production methods.

From the start of Q1 2022 through the end of Q4 2024, BCR purchases, deliveries, and retirements have all grown rapidly. Total contracted volume has tripled, and deliveries and retirements have roughly doubled on an annual basis. In total, since 2022, over 3M tonnes of biochar carbon removal credits have been purchased, with 683K tonnes delivered, and 330K tonnes retired. That all three major metrics - purchases, deliveries, and retirements - are on such a rapid growth path underscores the strength of the BCR market.

2025 BCR volumes underscore this strong growth trend, with 1.6M tonnes contracted in the first six months alone. The 1.24M tonnes offtake agreement between Microsoft and Exomad Green accounted for the lion share of that growth, and made Q2 2025 the largest quarter ever for BCR. However, the tonnes retired in Q1 and Q2 2025 appear to be level with their corresponding quarters in 2024.

This trend is in line with a general growth trend in CDR across all methods in 2025: In Q2 2025, more tonnes (15.48 million) were contracted than all prior quarters combined since the start of 2022 (13.6 million) across all methods of CDR. Similarly for BCR, the 1.4M tonnes of BCR purchased were by far the largest quarter, compared to 1.6M of all prior quarters since the start of 2022.

Microsoft is the largest single purchaser so far, having purchased 46% of total BCR contracted to date. That said, we have identified 290 purchasers of BCR credits since 2022, by far the largest customer set of any carbon removal method. This suggests that the biochar market has a long ‘tail’ composed of many lower volume purchasers - more so than the credit market other carbon removal methods which have a low number of very high volume purchasers.

Transaction rationale is consistent when looking at a select group of major purchasers: BCR is seen as a ready-now and cost-efficient option, making large-scale purchases feasible. However most purchases have been small-scale - there is one very significant deal (>1Mt), and not many over 100Kt. This suggests most of the rest of the transactions are companies trying out biochar to start.

Of the 683K tonnes delivered to date, over half of that is from orders of fewer than 100 tonnes to over 50% of the 290 suppliers. Large forward offtakes make up a majority of overall purchase volume to be delivered in the future, but deliveries to date are mostly small orders.

Biochar is a mainstay of the general market for durable carbon removal credits. 86% of all credits delivered and 92% of all credits retired since Q1 2022 are biochar carbon removals. That said, BCR is the second most contracted method of carbon removal at 10% of total durable CDR contracted, far behind BECCS at 75%, though only slightly more than Direct Air Capture at 9%.

BCR is attractive to many buyers for several reasons:

Rapid time from contracting to delivery, leading to a high delivery rate relative to other durable CDR methods.
Low prices relative to other methods.
Option for buyers to start with low volume purchases, making BCR attractive to buyers who want to ‘start small’.

These three factors are likely to be unique to biochar in the immediate future, suggesting the trends for BCR relative to other CDR methods will continue.

Market Dynamics

Transaction Volume

Tonnes Contracted

From Q1 2022 through end-Q2 2025, a total of 3.04M tonnes of Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR) has been contracted, either through forward or spot contracts. Considering only the past 3 years, the BCR market has seen multiple-fold year-over-year growth: 2022 through the end of 2024 saw the total purchase tonnage volume of BCR triple each year. Total tonnes purchased in 2024 were more than the total purchase volume in all the previous years combined. In the second quarter of 2025, driven by Microsoft transactions, the volume of biochar contracted experienced its largest quarter ever. With over 1.6M tonnes under contract in Q1 and Q2 2025 eclipsed the total purchase volume of all previous periods combined since 2022.

Historically, Q4 and Q2 have generally been the quarters with the highest contracted tonnes in a given year, with Q4 being the largest. High volume deals from purchasers have driven the emphasis on these two quarters. For example, Q4 2024 saw deals of many thousands of tons each contracted in that quarter from Exomad, Charm, Varaha, Carboneers, Aperam, and Planboo. In Q2 2025, the quarterly contracted volume represents a departure from Q2 2024’s numbers, largely driven by the agreement between Microsoft and Exomad Green.

Tonnes Delivered

Biochar delivered tonnage has increased rapidly over the years. BCR tonnes delivered each year have more than doubled from 2022 through the end of 2024. The growth trend has been similar throughout all four quarters of the year, with deliveries increasing each quarter compared to the same quarter in a previous year.

Of the 3.04M tonnes contracted since 2022, 683 thousand tonnes have been delivered through the end of Q2 2025. At the end of Q2 2025, the tonnes delivered to tonnes purchased ratio is about 1 : 4.5 (or 22%). In all previous years, Q4 has been the largest quarter for deliveries in a given year followed by Q2.

Tonnes Retired

Credit tonnage retired has grown rapidly as well. Of the 683 thousand tonnes delivered, a total of 330 thousand tonnes were retired by the end of Q2 2025, for a tonnes retired to tonnes delivered ratio of approximately 1 : 2 (or 50%). Total annual BCR retirement volume increased 77% from 2022 to 2023, and 89% from 2023 to 2024. Although not as dramatic a growth rate as in previous years, retirements in Q1 and Q2 2025 also saw a 12% and a 0.4% increase relative to their corresponding quarters in 2024.

*A note on Liquidity

The market for biochar credits is trending to becoming more liquid, as evidenced by more rapid time from credit issuance to credit retirement. Puro.earth’s August 2025 report specifically cites the declining time from issuance to either retirement or first transfer of a biochar CORC from 95 days in 2021 to 22 days through mid-June 2025.

Purchasers

Corporate Purchaser Leaderboard

Among the top BCR purchasers, four of them, Microsoft, Google, BCG, and JPMorgan, are also amongst the largest purchasers generally across a portfolio of CDR methods. For these purchasers, BCR represents no more than 35% of their durable CDR portfolio . For 8 of the top 14 purchasers of BCR, however, BCR represents the majority of their portfolio volume.

Business Cases for BCR

Among top BCR purchasers, four of them stand out for almost exclusively relying on BCR for their CDR purchases, namely: Swiss Re, SEB, Tide Platform, and Nasdaq. Swiss Re’s portfolio is composed of 99% BCR while the other three companies rely 100% on BCR.

The rationale provided by these companies for their reliance on BCR is largely homogenous. Derived from public company statements, BCR is seen as a trusted, highly durable option, tied to a list of potential co-benefits. This trust is based on clear, high-integrity MRV and insurance options. BCR is seen as a ready-now and cost-efficient option, making large-scale purchases feasible and attractive for potential buyers.

Nasdaq justifies its CDR purchases clearly, aiming to leverage its marketplace technology to “bring these markets to scale, build their integrity across the globe and help innovate the future of carbon removal.” Critically, this strategy has been realized through its strategic partnership with Puro.earth, becoming their majority investor last year and most recently leading a Series B funding round, which secured €11 million for Puro.earth. Generally, Nasdaq frames its BCR purchases as a trusted removal source that guarantees permanence (>100 years) and can contribute to 12 out of 17 UN SDGs.

Swiss Re prioritizes key quality aspects such as “integrity, durability, scalability, and additional social co-benefits to determine the overall quality of carbon certificates.” Additionally, their purchasing approach takes advantage of the variety of BCR projects available to establish a highly diversified portfolio, including projects in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Africa.

Tide Platform has pledged to remove 100% of its scope 1,2, and 3 emissions through durable carbon removals every year from 2022 onwards. To achieve this, Tide relies exclusively on BCR, citing that “biochar is one of the safest, most durable, and fastest ways to draw down carbon.” All of their retired or contracted purchases have come via Exomad Green and Wakefield Biochar.

SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken) has worked to neutralize all of its residual emissions through the purchasing of CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCs) in partnership with Puro.earth. Regarding the reliance on BCR, SEB has emphasized the importance of coherent and trusted standards and a ≥100-year durability assurance. Similar to Swiss Re, SEB’s CDR portfolio is diversified across multiple BCR suppliers, utilizing the extensive global network of operational BCR suppliers, and in turn, de-risking their investment.

Biochar Carbon Removal is by far the most common removal method purchased in contracted credit sales. Out of all recorded transactions, it accounts for more deals than any other category, with 290 unique buyers (>10 tonnes transactions), almost five times more than the second-highest method, Enhanced Weathering. The clear majority of first-time purchasers are entering the market through BCR, making it the dominant entry point for companies starting their carbon removal journey.

Volume Contracted, excluding Microsoft

The picture of median volume contracted suggests that over half of purchasers traced by CDR.fyi have purchased fewer than 100 tons. This shows a market characterized by smaller transaction purchasers that yield a lower median number, relative to the average tonnage volume across all BCR purchasers.

Over time, the average volume bought by a purchaser in a given year has increased, from 542 tonnes per purchaser in 2022 to 762 tonnes in H1 of 2025. Excluding Microsoft, the average deal tonnage volume has also increased year after year since 2022, from 197 tonnes per deal to 278 tonnes. The median tonnage contracted more than doubled to 90 tonnes from 2023 to 2024, but has seen a decrease so far in 2025, down to 73 tonnes.

Suppliers

Supplier Leaderboard

Exomad is the largest biochar carbon credit supplier in the world, with around 60% of all tonnes sold since 2022. Even excluding tonnes contracted to Microsoft, Exomad would still have sold more tonnes than any other supplier worldwide. It also led the leaderboard in number of orders and tonnes delivered, as well as the average order size. Notably, suppliers with a lower average tonnes per order and a higher number of orders have delivered much more than those with higher average order sizes and a lower number of orders. The top 4 suppliers by tonnes sold are all suppliers with projects based in the Global South, representing 74% of total tonnes sold.These suppliers also lead in tonnes delivered.

Notes on the Data

Data Sources: All of the data used in preparing this report is based on reported transactions, including public announcements, direct submissions by suppliers and purchasers through the CDR.fyi Portal, and integrations with ecosystem service providers. See Methodology for additional details on our approach. To provide feedback on the CDR.fyi data model, reach out to us at partners@CDR.fyi.

CDR.fyi tracks carbon removal purchases & deliveries with a permanence of hundreds to thousands of years. For any corrections or questions, contact team@CDR.fyi. For data licensing & partnership inquiries, contact partners@CDR.fyi.

Acknowledgments

Thank you for exploring the Biochar Carbon Removal Market Snapshot | 2025. This blog post is an abridged version of the comprehensive edition exclusive to our Data Partners and Platform Subscribers. For access to the full report or further information, kindly contact us at partners@CDR.fyi.

Data, analysis, and content for the CDR.fyi Biochar Carbon Removal Market Snapshot | 2025 were provided by Jason Grillo, Maximilian Olmos van Velden, Robert Höglund and Tank Chen, with contribution from Alex Rink and Roden Sherpa.

Many thanks to external reviewers, Myles Gray (US Biochar Initiative) and Sebastian Manhart (Carbonfuture), for their feedback on initial observations, which helped shape this final analysis.

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