Biochar carbon removal (BCR) is one of the few durable removal pathways already delivering at scale. Built on mature pyrolysis technology, it now operates across many countries. Yet most durable CDR tonnes are contracted but still years from delivery, so buyers and investors increasingly ask who is actually delivering. Drawing on CDR.fyi data, this report examines biochar’s delivery record, the buyers and suppliers behind it, and what will sustain it as contracting grows.
Comparing cumulative contracted and delivered volumes reveals biochar carbon removal’s significant position in the durable carbon removal market. While BCR accounts for a smaller share of total contracted volumes, it dominates actual deliveries, highlighting its progress in project deployment and commercial execution.
| Key Metric | BCR | All Methods | BCR Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative Contracted Volume | Approx. 7.448 million tonnes | Approx. 50.56 million tonnes | 14.7% |
| Cumulative Delivered Volume | 1.339 million tonnes | 1.711 million tonnes | 78.3% |
| Delivered-to-Contracted Volume Ratio | 18.0% | 3.38% | Approx. 5.3× the market average |
Data Insights: The gap between contracted and delivered volumes reveals not only BCR’s current market position but also differences in project execution and future growth potential across durable carbon removal pathways:
The gap between contracted volume and actual deliveries shows that procurement commitments do not translate into supply at the same pace. Delivery data offers a clearer view of project execution and commercial deployment.
Biochar’s delivery capacity rests on the industrial application of biochar equipment, and alignment between production data & MRV requirements. Together, these factors support replicable processes and verifiable carbon removal.
Long-term offtake agreements support project development and capacity expansion, but sustained growth depends on bringing new capacity online, maintaining reliable operations, and verifying carbon removal as contracted volumes increase.
Annual delivery volumes reveal the growth trajectory of biochar carbon removal. Based on cumulative delivery data exported from CDR.fyi, annual volumes were calculated from year-on-year changes in cumulative totals.
| Year | Annual Deliveries |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 237 tonnes |
| 2020 | 1.24k tonnes |
| 2021 | 19.85k tonnes |
| 2022 | 60.40k tonnes |
| 2023 | 126.57k tonnes |
| 2024 | 407.42k tonnes |
| 2025 | 563.00k tonnes |
| 2026* | 160.72k tonnes |
Note: Annual volumes are derived from cumulative totals. The 2026 figure is partial-year data.
Biochar CDR deliveries rose steadily, reaching approximately 60,400 tonnes in 2022. The priority during this period was establishing a track record in project operations, carbon accounting, and credit delivery—key foundations for a viable commercial model.
Annual deliveries reached 407.42k tonnes in 2024, up 222% year on year. Growth extended beyond contracts to actual deliveries, though annual totals alone cannot show whether expansion came from more suppliers, larger projects, or a few major contributors.
Annual deliveries reached 563.00k tonnes in 2025, approximately 9.3 times the 2022 level. The low 2022 baseline partly explains this multiple, so it should not be used to project future growth. The next challenge is to broaden the project base and sustain annual supply.
The biochar carbon removal (BCR) market is taking shape around large buyers, leading project developers, and long-term offtake agreements. However, purchase commitments, contracted volumes, and actual deliveries reflect different stages of market development. Comparing buyer purchases, supplier contract volumes, and cumulative deliveries helps reveal demand concentration and suppliers’ ability to turn commercial opportunities into verified carbon removal.
| Rank | Buyer | Purchase Volume (K tonnes CO₂e) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | 2,653.7 |
| 2 | Altitude | 1,630.0 |
| 3 | 300.0 | |
| 4 | Offset8 Capital | 178.1 |
| 5 | Swiss Re | 89.9 |
Microsoft and Altitude account for 57.5% of contracted volume, showing the market’s reliance on a few buyers. Their purchasing decisions and offtake strategies may significantly influence project financing and capacity expansion. This concentration raises suppliers’ customer risk and does not necessarily indicate broad-based market demand.
In 2025, Microsoft and Exomad Green signed a 10-year offtake agreement for at least 1.24 million tonnes of CO₂e, supporting expansion. Long-term agreements give developers revenue visibility and help plan investment. However, an offtake is a future purchase commitment, not carbon removal already delivered or verified.
| Top 5 Suppliers by Contract Volume | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Supplier | Contract Volume (K tonnes CO₂e) |
| 1 | Exomad Green | 2,423.4 |
| 2 | Liferaft | 1,003.0 |
| 3 | Varaha | 508.6 |
| 4 | Engrow | 425.0 |
| 5 | Alcom Carbon Markets | 360.7 |
| Top 5 Suppliers by Cumulative Deliveries | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Supplier | Cumulative Deliveries (K tonnes CO₂e) |
| 1 | Exomad Green | 447.0 |
| 2 | Carboneers | 177.0 |
| 3 | Varaha | 174.8 |
| 4 | Aperam BioEnergia | 110.9 |
| 5 | Wakefield Biochar | 62.6 |
Only Exomad Green and Varaha appear in both top-five rankings, so contract volume does not determine cumulative deliveries. Signing dates, delivery schedules, commissioning stages, and data definitions may affect rankings. Without contract-level, time-series delivery data, rankings cannot show a supplier’s fulfillment efficiency.
Contracted volume becomes carbon removal only after projects are built, run reliably, and complete delivery and verification. For expanding suppliers, ramp-up, feedstock security, equipment reliability, and MRV affect delivery timelines. Competitiveness depends on more than contract volume: deliveries must keep pace.
Long-term offtake agreements provide demand visibility, reducing sales uncertainty and supporting project financing and expansion. However, buyer concentration means growth may depend heavily on a few purchasers. Sustained growth also requires broader participation and continued purchasing from existing customers.
The gap between contracted volumes and actual deliveries shows that market expansion cannot be measured by signed contracts alone. As more projects enter construction and operation, delivery data will matter more for judging whether planned capacity is coming online and commitments are becoming verifiable carbon removal.
As offtakes and large contracts strengthen the commercial base, differentiation will depend on execution. Equipment reliability, feedstock supply, operations, removal accounting, and third-party verification affect delivery. Suppliers that fulfill contracts and keep credible delivery records are likelier to win repeat purchases.
Biochar CDR delivery growth is not driven by a single factor. Technology, verification, deployment, and demand are interconnected, and together they form the foundation for delivery. The following is industry analysis, not a direct conclusion from order data.
Biochar carbon removal is generally assessed at TRL 8–9, with hundreds of production plants operating worldwide (Source: Biochar Journal, 2024).
In pyrolysis production, feedstock input, operation, output, testing, and end use are clear data points that map to MRV requirements.
BCR projects now span many countries and regions, and Supercritical’s 2026 report assessed 119 biochar projects.
Nearly 300 buyers have purchased biochar credits (CDR.fyi, Biochar Carbon Removal Market Snapshot, September 2025), and contracted volume reached about 3 Mt in H1 2026.
Key Caveats: Technology maturity does not mean all projects deliver equally. dMRV integration and certification requirements vary by project and certifier. Buyer concentration is high, with the top two buyers accounting for 57.5% of biochar contracted volume, and Q3 2026 contracted volume declined. Signed volume does not equal actual deliveries, so contracts, deliveries, verification, and retirements should be distinguished when assessing the market.
Biochar carbon removal accounts for 14.7% of contracted durable CDR volume but 78.3% of delivered volume, with an 18.0% delivery rate against 3.38% market-wide. Mature pyrolysis, verifiable data systems, replicable engineering, and long-term offtakes support this record, though concentration and uneven contracting remain. As the market matures, the question shifts from how much is contracted to how much is delivered and verified. Projects built for delivery and verification will lead.
Data source: CDR.fyi, as of October 2026.