· 7 min read
What does a truly regenerative carbon negative industry look like?
A new industry is on the cusp of emerging that can transform the value of land, improve food security, reduce pollution, and remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. It's worth taking notice.
Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced through pyrolysis, where biomass (like waste wood or crop residue) is burned in the absence of oxygen at temperatures of 400-800°C. This locks carbon in a stable form for 100s-1000s of years, interrupting the normal carbon cycle and preventing its return to the atmosphere.
Biochar is getting attention in carbon markets as one of the few durable carbon removal solutions that is ̶ crucially ̶ ready to scale today. In 2024, it was responsible for 86% of the durable carbon removal actually delivered. And importantly, it is more affordable, with costs ranging from $80-180tCO2, compared to other durable removal approaches costing $200-1300/tCO2.
Yet the real promise of biochar is its potential beyond carbon removal.
Biochar has multifunctional properties. It’s highly porous allowing it to retain moisture and improve soil structure. It has a high cation exchange capacity, meaning it can hold onto and exchange essential nutrients like potassium (K⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), and ammonium (NH₄⁺). These characteristics make it a powerful soil enhancer, reducing the need for fertilisers and mitigating nutrient runoff. The same properties also enable biochar to filter contaminants from water and remediate polluted soils, such as those affected by mining, as Carbogenics and Rockwood are doing. Applying biochar to slurry pools can decrease ammonia (NH3) emissions by 12–77%, enhancing farms’ capacity to recycle key nutrients, and significantly reducing nasty odours. UK-based Black Bull Biochar is enhancing poultry bedding with a specially modified biochar designed to absorb high levels of phosphorus. This innovation helps prevent phosphorus runoff when poultry manure is applied to land, a major contributor to water pollution, eutrophication, and biodiversity loss in nearby ecosystems.
In industry, biochar is even being explored as a low-emission alternative to coal in steel metallurgy, offering a near-term route to partially decarbonise the world’s most coal-dependent sector. Although in this use-case it is no longer considered removal.
Despite its potential, only 300,000 tonnes of biochar are sold globally each year, with horticulture as the primary market. The main reason it hasn’t taken off is economics - on its own it simply costs too much to gain real momentum.
This is where the potential of carbon removal comes in, because the reality is that without carbon finance, the biochar market doesn’t stack up. On its own, biochar is too expensive to produce and the market too immature. Carbon income changes the maths. It allows producers or feedstock owners to justify the upfront investment in pyrolysis systems, creates space for market development, and unlocks a pathway toward a viable, scaled industry.
The economics of biochar
Biochar economics depends on two key variables: the local feedstock market and the availability of customers for buying the products, both physical biochar and co-products like heat and syngas. The viability varies depending on where in the world you look.
In high-income countries like the UK, biochar faces significant headwinds. Feedstock costs can reach £150 per tonne (of delivered quality wood feedstock) and labour and equipment are expensive. Producers often need to sell both carbon credits and biochar at premium prices to break even, in addition to finding offtakers for renewable heat/syngas. Moreover, the agricultural benefits from biochar are limited in temperate soils, pushing innovators to find ̶ at least currently ̶ niche, high-value markets such as environmental remediation or decarbonising construction materials. While innovation is ongoing, scalability remains challenging until stronger demand signals and reliable offtakers for biochar emerge.
Contrast this with the Global South, where the economics flip.
The Global South holds around 86% of the world's biomass resource. Abundant low-cost agricultural and forestry residues, coupled with lower labour and operational costs, make production far more affordable. Biochar projects in these areas can thrive on carbon finance alone.
While biochar sales might not be necessary for economic viability, meta-analyses have highlighted that the acidic, water-stressed soils characteristic of the tropics would also show the most benefit from biochar applications. To unlock the full potential, we need to build local demand for biochar: working with farmers to demonstrate the ROI possible from yield improvements, improved drought resilience, and long-term savings on fertiliser.
A Case Study in Namibia: biochar for ecological and economic renewal
Namibia offers a powerful case study of biochar's transformative potential. The country faces a significant environmental challenge due to widespread bush encroachment. Native tree species have overtaken traditional grasslands due to overgrazing and loss of herbivores that browse new tree growth. The extent of the problem is astonishing, expanding across 45 million hectares of land in Namibia. In addition to threatening wildlife populations, it has dramatically reduced rangeland productivity and value, which are critical given that agriculture sustains around 70% of Namibia’s population.
Bush encroachment vs healthy savannah ecosystem taken from my visit to Namibia in March: (L) 1.5-2.5m high scrub vs (R) open grassland with occasional larger trees.
To manage the problem, farmers are currently using chemicals to destroy the unwieldy bush or harvesting and burning it for charcoal which is then exported or burnt locally.
But new projects are emerging that take a different approach: converting this biomass into biochar, financed by carbon removal credits. In Namibia, 450 million tonnes of biomass could be utilised, representing ~300-500 million tonnes of carbon removal potential. There are other use cases for it of course, from building materials, fire-wood or bioenergy.
PyroNam (PyroCCS) is a pioneering project in Namibia, with three operational facilities converting invasive bush to biochar. While currently supported by carbon offtake agreements, the team are working closely with farmers, local communities, and fertiliser supply chains to build bottom up demand for the physical biochar. This is where the hard yards come in. PyroNam are finding progressive farmers and running trials to evidence the impact biochar can have on arable soils.
Namibian soils, predominantly sandy and drought-prone, can greatly benefit from biochar. Biochar acts as a sponge, enhancing soil moisture and nutrient retention, and reducing input requirements. These are huge advantages in a region facing highly variable rainfall and high fertiliser prices. Preliminary research and a field visit with another innovative Namibian biochar producer called Carbon Capital has shown us firsthand the promising signs of soil organic matter accumulation and grassland regeneration following biochar application.
Two images from the same field, first with no biochar application and second with biochar application: (L) reduced root mass, drier soil and low levels of retained organic matter vs (R) increased root mass, improved soil aggregation structure, and water retention around the root zone
But the opportunity extends even further.
If bush removal and biochar production is combined with regenerative land management practices, like rotational grazing or rewilding, the degraded landscapes can gradually return to their natural savannah grasslands, as well as restoring farming yields.
This is the approach being pursued by AfriWild in South Africa, a venture born out of efforts to rewild South Africa’s national parks. They’re converting invasive bush to biochar and using the biochar carbon credits to fund ecological restoration. By preventing regrowth through reintroduction of browsing herbivores, they're working to regenerate entire ecosystems and increase the value of the land both economically and ecologically. A true holistic solution. While biochar carbon removal credits are providing the catalytic financing for the project, early data suggests that the resulting soil organic carbon increase is up to 30 times greater than the carbon contained in the biochar itself.
Zooming out, there are 500 million hectares of land impacted by bush encroachment, equivalent to half the land mass of Canada. This is land which extends across Southern Africa, Australia, Southern Europe and the US. Not all will be suitable for biochar, but the opportunity is nonetheless vast.
The long game - building carbon negative industry
While carbon finance is essential to kickstart the biochar industry in these regions, its long-term potential extends far beyond carbon markets. Once the multiple values of biochar are realised, the industry is well-positioned to sustain itself independently of carbon credits.
Isn’t that exactly what the carbon removal industry should be aiming for?
illuminem is proud to partner with Greenhouse Gas Removal Future Leaders Network to amplify the voices of emerging climate innovators and thought leaders. This article reflects our shared commitment to empowering young leaders who are shaping solutions for a sustainable future. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.
