![[background image] image of a farm landscape](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/68d5806cbf60124f871d0748/6901305452b2340287ed530f_biochar-carbon-removal.jpg)
Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR) converts agricultural and forestry residues into a stable, carbon-rich material that can store atmospheric CO₂ for centuries. When projects are designed rigorously and evidenced digitally, BCR delivers high-integrity removals alongside tangible benefits for soils, water management, and rural livelihoods.
Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced by heating biomass (wood, leaves, straw, other biosolids) at high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment - pyrolysis. This process concentrates carbon into stable, aromatic structures that resist biological decomposition. When used in soils or long-life products, a large share of this carbon can remain stored for hundreds of years to millennia. Unlike avoidance credits that prevent future emissions, BCR represents a physical capture of carbon from the atmosphere into a durable storage pool, which is why it is increasingly valued by organizations seeking credible net-zero portfolios.
Carbon removal begins with the choice of feedstock. Most projects use residues - husks, shells, prunings, sawdust - that would otherwise decompose or be burned. The residues are dried and fed into a controlled kiln where temperature and residence time are carefully managed. These parameters determine not only how much carbon is retained in the resulting biochar, but also its stability. After cooling and quality checks, the biochar is distributed to end uses such as soil amendments, compost blends, or building materials. Each step generates data: weights and moisture levels, kiln temperature curves, lab certificates, delivery receipts, and application records. Linking these records into a coherent evidence chain is essential, because a removal claim is only as strong as the documentation and data behind it.
Biochar offers physical, durable CO₂ removal. Instead of avoiding future emissions, BCR locks atmospheric carbon into a long-lived form and places it in suitable sinks—supported by batch-level testing and digital records for traceability.
With controlled pyrolysis (temperature and residence time) and appropriate end uses (e.g., as a soil amendment or conditioner, or durable materials), biochar exhibits long-term stability and low reversal risk. Quality indicators such as fixed carbon and H/C_org ratio help ensure durability.
Biochar can deliver environmental, social, and economic co-benefits:
Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR) is among the most immediately scalable and cost-competitive durable CDR options available today. biochar delivering the majority of durable CDR tonnes,
Reported 2024 market data shows that biochar accounted for 86% of durable CDR deliveries, making it the most widely deployed durable removal pathway. Biochar is scientifically validated, offers immediate climate impact, and delivers multiple co-benefits.
High-integrity BCR projects start with sustainable sourcing: residues must be traceable to places that did not experience deforestation or other land-use change caused by the project. Operations must demonstrate control over kiln conditions and air emissions, and biochar must meet quality thresholds related to fixed carbon content, stability proxies, and contaminants. Equally important is traceability after production. Projects should know where every batch goes, in what quantity, and for what purpose. Digital MRV systems help maintain this continuity by capturing records at the moment they are created, validating units and locations, and packaging the information into verification-ready reports. Independent auditors then review the data and confirm that the calculations align with the applicable methodology before credits are issued on a registry.
BCR sits in the category of durable carbon removal. Organizations can use it to neutralize the last portion of residual emissions they cannot eliminate internally, and to diversify a portfolio that may also include nature-based solutions, renewable energy procurement, and efficiency improvements. Because BCR projects are distributed by nature—many feedstocks, many sites—digital traceability is what allows buyers to trust that every tonne has a clear provenance. Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) encourages the use of durable carbon removals - especially BCR as a significant way in which organisations and organisations can make meaningful climate contributions via Beyond Value Chain Mitigation (BVCM). Orejen Carbon is developing tools for consumers and smaller enterprises to achieve impactful climate contributions via BVCM. We’re excited to announce this later in Q4 2025.
Biochar turns waste into a stable carbon store and often improves soil performance. The difference between a good project and a forgettable one is the quality of evidence—from feedstock origin to batch application. When that evidence is captured and governed digitally, BCR becomes a scalable, auditable pathway for durable removals.
Explore how we deliver BCR with digital assurance. Contact us today.
Explore our cutting-edge technologies in carbon removal and sustainability.
