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🤔 Is biochar already removing close to 1Mt of CO2? 🤔

Writer's picture: sebmanhartsebmanhart




📑 Keen to know what the state of biochar production is today and where it is heading? Look no further than the 2023 Global Biochar Market Report, a collaboration between the International Biochar Initiative (IBI) and the US Biochar Initiative.


🔎 The report - the first global one of its kind - draws on the (self-reported) data from more than 1,000 global study respondents from over 100 countries, offering a snapshot of the biochar industry’s global landscape and delivering critical insights for policymakers and investors. 


Key takeaways: 


🥇Global production exceeded 350,000 tonnes of biochar in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 91% since 2021. Projections soar to nearly 2.7Mt of biochar produced in 2025. As a reminder, 1 ton of biochar can remove up to 3 tons of CO2, meaning we might have already hit close to 1Mt of carbon dioxide removal (hashtag#CDR) in 2023.


💰 Revenues from biochar-related activities surpassed $600M USD in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 97% since 2021. For 2025, the industry expects over $3.3B in revenues.


🚀 58% of surveyed producers representing over 50% of global production are not currently engaging in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and are not crediting their carbon removal activities. 


👉 My take: it is incredible to see the size and geographical distribution of the global biochar industry. I was particularly shocked that more than half of biochar produced is not certified in the VCM. As such, CDR.fyi’s 2023 data with BCR accounting for 93% of all CDR deliveries might actually be grossly understated. 


⚠️ However, also a few notes of caution from my end:


*️⃣ Not all biochar is created equal. And not all biochar carbon removal yields the same quality of CO2 removed.


 *️⃣ Data for this report is entirely self-reported. This means that the projections in particular are likely optimistic.


🧂 All to say that I would take the top-line numbers with a pinch of salt and see them as indicative, not firm. Having said that, I know that many important producers were not able to take part in the survey, therefore lowering the numbers.


👏 Shout out to Lucia BruseganWendy Lu Maxwell-BartonLauren Boritzke Smith, and Myles Gray, P.E. for putting this together! It is a great first version and I look forward to an even wider-ranging V2 in 2025.


🌐 Don’t forget to join the webinar providing an overview and highlights of the 2023 Global Biochar Market Report: 



🔗 And here is the link to the actual report. Highly recommended to dive into the details: https://lnkd.in/deeg485E


❓ What's your take? Where is biochar heading? What is its potential?





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© 2023 SEBASTIAN MANHART

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