So much is happening in the world of biochar. It's both a physical product and can also be a more abstract concept called a "carbon removal". How is the industry balancing the divergent business logic of these two different markets, and what challenges and opportunities will it face?

In today's episode of Carbon Removal Newsroom, producer and guest host Asa Kamer interviews Myles Gray, the program director of the US Bicohar Initiative about their 2023 Global Biochar Market Report.

Biochar is responsible for a huge amount of currently delivered durable carbon removals. It's more shovel-ready than other forms of carbon removal, which have much higher CapEx requirements and are betting more on future cost-curves than present deployment. However, some participants in biochar production can face challenges from those concerned about additionality, among other issues.

The discussion covers the production scale, market dynamics, economic challenges, and the growing number of biochar producers, particularly in the Global South. Gray also highlights the importance of high-quality standards, the role of innovative business models, and the need for better market development for physical biochar to help scale the industry globally. Listen in to learn more.

On This Episode

⁠⁠Asa Kamer

Myles Gray

Resources

US Biochar Initiative

USBI's 2023 Global Biochar Market Report

Connect with Nori

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori’s X account⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s other podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s CDR ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠meme X account

Everyone used to say carbon removal was supply-constrained. Now everyone says it is demand-constrained. So which is it?

Today's show has Dr. Gabrielle Walker, Co-Founder of the carbon removal marketplace CUR8 and the Founder of Rethinking Removals, an NGO working to change the conventional environmental story around CDR. She is hosted by Nori's VP of Supply and Methodology, Radhika Moolgavkar.

Dr. Walker discusses her long history in the climate space, including time spent in carbon capture, and how she works to address questions from corporate buyers.

The conversation covers the importance of portfolios in carbon removal strategies, the necessity of immediate action, and the challenges of gaining local and environmental community support.

Additionally, Dr. Walker delves into major stories in carbon removal for 2024, including the XPRIZE finalists, Europe's policy actions, and private industry investments.

On This Episode

⁠Dr. Gabrielle Walker

⁠⁠Radhika Moolgavkar⁠⁠

Resources

Dr. Walker's LinkedIn

Dr. Walker's Twitter

Rethinking Removals

⁠CUR8

Connect with Nori

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori’s X account⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s other podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s CDR ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠meme X account

The XPRIZE remains one of the top stories in carbon removal and one of the largest funding sources for CDR start-ups. The Elon Musk-backed competition will award $50 million to the winning CDR startup in 2025 and send $10 million to three other runner-up teams.

Over 1000 teams worldwide have applied since the award was announced in 2021.

This month, XPRIZE released the detailed “Getting to Gigaton” report, which provided comprehensive data and analysis of the top 100 teams. A few weeks later, they announced the top 20 finalist teams competing for the grand prize.

The report and the selection of the top teams provide a state of play for the industry by showing what methodologies are most ready to grow to a gigaton scale, according to XPRIZE's expert CDR judges.

Today's show is with Nikki Batchelor, the Executive Director of XPRIZE Carbon Removal, and Mike Leitch, the Senior Technical Lead, about how they selected the top 20, what they found in this report, and what comes next for the competition.

On This Episode

Nikki Batchelor

Mike Leitch

⁠Radhika Moolgavkar⁠

Resources

“Getting to Gigaton”⁠ report

Connect with Nori

⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Nori’s X account⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s other podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s CDR ⁠⁠⁠⁠meme X account

Lots of news in carbon removal this past week! Frontier made their largest-ever purchase of $58 million from relatively new BiCRS company Vaulted Deep, Climeworks unveiled their Mammoth facility in Iceland, and Microsoft purchased 3.3 million tons of CO2 from BECCs in Sweden.

These deals represent significant private market volume in CDR. But a new report in Nature called The carbon dioxide removal gap” highlights some of the policy needs that remain to get carbon removal where it should be to keep us on track for our climate goals.

Listen in today to learn about VCM and policy updates from the world of carbon removal, and understand some of the biggest deals this space has yet seen.

On This Episode

⁠⁠⁠Wil Burns⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Holly Jean Buck⁠⁠⁠

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Nature report, "The carbon dioxide removal gap”⁠

Connect with Nori

⁠⁠⁠Nori⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Nori’s X account⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s other podcast ⁠⁠⁠Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠

Nori’s CDR ⁠⁠⁠meme X account

Biochar is an increasingly global carbon removal pathway. What does it look like to do business in Ghana and India? What does it mean for biochar to be decentralized?

Mart de Bruijn is the Co-Founder and Director of Carboneers, a Dutch biochar company working to implement carbon removal solutions in India and Ghana.

The conversation covers the challenges of securing enthusiastic participation from local farmers, navigating cultural and regulatory landscapes, and the technical aspects of biochar production. Additionally, the episode sheds light on the crucial role of monitoring, reporting, and verification in ensuring the efficacy of carbon credits, alongside the future expansion plans and potential bottlenecks faced by distributed/decentralized carbon removal systems.

This episode is hosted by Radhika Moolgavkar, Nori's VP of Supply and Methodology.

On This Episode

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Radhika Moolgavkar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Mart de Bruijn⁠⁠

Resources

Carboneers⁠

Europe has a lot happening for carbon removal, and on several different levels. What is the state of CDR policy and industry?

Today's episode has Nori's VP of Supply and Methodology, Radhika Moolgavkar, on hosting duties, and Sylvain Delerce, the Associate Research Direct of Carbon Gap, joining the show to catch listeners up on Carbon Gap and the latest on European carbon removal news.

Sylvain highlights the European Union's efforts to structure and fund the industry amidst broader regulatory efforts, and how Carbon Gap fits into the ecosystem.

The conversation also covers the importance of distinguishing carbon removal from carbon capture and storage (CCS) in policy texts, the need for a clear EU vision on CDR, and the potential impact of the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Carbon Removal Certification Framework on the industry. Sylvain also discusses the role of individual European countries in advancing CDR and the potential for France to deploy significant carbon removal solutions by 2050.

On This Episode

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Radhika Moolgavkar⁠⁠⁠⁠

Resources

"Decoding the Net-Zero Industry Act – Implications for carbon removal" by Carbon Gap

"Envisioning a carbon removal strategy for Europe" by Carbon Gap

The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) recently came out and announced they would be issuing guidance for how some carbon offsets may be used to address Scope 3 emissions (activities beyond direct business operations and energy). This set off a firestorm of protest within and outside of SBTi, as well as some calls of support.

It was essentially a tabula rasa one could project one's carbon hopes and fears onto: would this lead to increased financing of sustainability efforts, or result in a race to the bottom of low-quality credits finding a new market? Something in-between, or just too early to tell?

In today's episode of Carbon Removal Newsroom, host ⁠⁠⁠Radhika Moolgavkar⁠⁠⁠, Nori's VP of Supply and Methodology, is joined by her business panelists ⁠⁠⁠Susan Su⁠⁠⁠, a venture capitalist at Toba Capital, and ⁠⁠⁠Na'im Merchant⁠⁠⁠, the Co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, to make sense of this news.

They also cover other CDR industry headlines from April, including sustainable aviation fuel, biochar in the global south, and significant subsidy announcements from Denmark and Canada for carbon removal projects.

On This Episode

⁠⁠⁠⁠Radhika Moolgavkar⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Susan Su⁠

⁠Na'im Merchant⁠

Resources

"Inside the Controversy That's Divided the Carbon Offsets Market" at Bloomberg

"SBTi is committed to robust governance and will not shy away from debate" by Luiz Amaral, CEO, Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

"Carbon Offset Market Faces Chaos as African Mega-Project Collapses" at Bloomberg

"Removals are better than some reductions - The case of electrofuels for aviation" by Robert Höglund

2023 Global Biochar Market Report

Captura's fundraising news

Mission Zero's fundraising news

Carbon removal is sometimes thought to be enjoying policy tailwinds. But is it anywhere close to what we need to avoid the worst of climate change?

A new report from the Rhodium Group suggests the CDR industry is receiving about 1% of what it would need to reach a one CO2 gigatonne/year capacity! Our regular panelists, Drs. Holly Jean Buck & Wil Burns discuss the challenges of government budgeting, politics, eminent domain, profit-sharing Community Benefits Agreements, and so much else as this industry tries to scale.

On This Episode

⁠⁠Wil Burns⁠⁠

⁠⁠Holly Jean Buck⁠⁠

Asa Kamer

Resources

Rhodium Group's "The Landscape of Carbon Dioxide Removal and US Policies to Scale Solutions" report

Connect with Nori

⁠⁠Nori⁠⁠

⁠⁠Nori’s X account⁠⁠

Nori’s other podcast ⁠⁠Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠

Nori’s CDR ⁠⁠meme X account