Carboneers

As of this month, Carboneers turned five years old. Five years that started with 1 year of consulting and ended up where we are today: developing and upgrading distributed biochar projects in the Global South. "Why the Global South?" Is a question we get asked regularly. For one, it's where most of the world's biomass sits. It is also where the soil has the most to gain. Once charged, biochar improves water retention, nutrient availability and microbial activity in depleted soils. And then there is what these projects do for the livelihoods of the people involved. Rather than focusing on industrial areas, we bring the operations to the smallholder farming communities. The last two years we developed new technologies: and put them in practice: the distributed kiln, continuous plants, IoT sensors, and Eagle, our in-house digital MRV system. Biomass that used to be out of reach now becomes biochar. Alongside our trusted partners, we are proud about the projects and the tonnages removed so far but we are also nowhere near done. It accounts only for 0,00248% of IPCC's yearly goal, so there is plenty of work ahead of us. Five years in, we also thought it was time for a new look. This month we say goodbye to our misaligned Canva-made logo and share something new with you, built with the incredible team of The Climate Agency. Have a look at our new website: https://carboneers.earth/

We celebrate the start of a new coalition: Biochar4All. Together with Ndugu Coffee and Ecokick, we've formed the Biochar4All coalition to explore how a farmer-owned biochar model translates to coffee-growing communities in Greater Masaka, Uganda. Backed by Achmea Foundation support, we'll be prototyping cooperative biochar services and decentralised production hubs with smallholder farmers, testing what works: improving soil health, cutting input costs, and opening a new value stream from farm waste. This coalition also enables a chance for us to explore different ways in which the biochar production process can be automated, and how far we can take it. More to follow!

London Climate Action Week has started. The sun is out, diaries are packed, and the city is filled with people coming in from across the world to talk about what comes next for climate action. Mart, Maarten, Anna, and Berend are joining this week. For us, the most important question in carbon markets right now is one that every CSO is being asked in their own boardroom: how do you position carbon removal not as a cost to defend, but as strategic value to the business? As the market matures, buyers increasingly behave as if they're preparing for a more regulated future; and the best removals deliver more than tonnes. Healthier soils, more resilient supply chains, less fertilizer dependence, and improved livelihoods. And that's exactly what our biochar projects in India and Ghana are delivering today. On Thursday morning we're co-hosting a breakfast at the National Gallery with InPlanet and ClimeFi. A curated gathering of leaders across carbon markets, sustainability, and procurement. The panel discussion features our own Maarten de Lange, together with Ella Hughes (Google), Christina Larkin (InPlanet), Victoria Harvey (ClimeFi), and Eduardo Bastos (Chairman, CCARBON/USP - Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture) - moderated by Christopher Neidl (UNFCCC High-Level Climate Champions), and is themed around exactly that question, followed by a private curator-led gallery tour. Let's talk biochar!

Our Commercial Director Maarten de Lange will be joining Linda Freiner, CSO at Zurich Insurance, on the panel 'Resilience in a Disrupted Market' at Terras Tuscany. The timing is relevant as fertilizer prices have shot up, climate volatility is putting pressure on agricultural margins, and the question of how to build more resilient supply chains is getting even more urgent. We tend to treat mitigation and adaptation as separate tracks. Biochar is a good example of why that distinction doesn't really hold. It improves soil health, retains water, and increases yields for farming communities, reducing dependence on expensive synthetic inputs while also removing and reducing carbon emissions. In short: it helps farmers and the value chains they are part of to adapt, while cutting emissions to tackle the root cause of it all. Interested in how biochar can decarbonize your value chain while making it more resilient? Send Maarten a message.

Somewhere over the Atlantic right now... 🗽 Maarten de Lange is heading to Carbon Unbound in New York, where he will present at the Buyers' Workshop on Tuesday evening. He will talk about our latest developments in decentralised biochar carbon removal, our field-level dMRV innovation, and what five years of operating in India and Ghana has taught us. One of this year's themes is why the Global South is essential for scaling carbon removal. Not only is a vast majority of the world's biomass located here, it is also where carbon removal creates the most value beyond the tonne. With biochar, we enrich soils, boost farmer income, and create meaningful change for the communities at the heart of the work. If you are there and want to talk about it, find Maarten! #CarbonUnbound #CarbonRemoval #Biochar #GlobalSouth #Carboneers

Off to Zurich! 🇨🇭 Next week, Mart de Bruijn and Lia Flury will be at Climate Week Zurich from 4 to 9 May 🌱 Lia recently joined us as Development Lead, bringing seven years of experience in carbon removal. And as a Zurich local, this one is close to home for her. We will be there all week and happy to connect. Whether it is a five-minute catch-up or a two-hour rabbit hole into biochar, we are equally up for both. Going to CWZ? Drop us a message and hope to see you there. #ClimateWeekZurich #CWZ2026 #Biochar #CarbonRemoval #Carboneers

Carbon credits are now firmly part of the EU’s path to a 90% emissions reduction by 2040, but the real question is: what kind of credits will shape that future? 🌍 Today, our coalition, together with leading CDR partner organizations, is publishing a policy position paper calling for a clear, strategic role for high-integrity carbon removal credits within the EU framework. Why this matters: The EU’s decision to allow up to 5% international credits is not just a technical adjustment, it is a market signal that will determine scalability and cost of reaching net-zero targets across Europe. Our position is grounded in three realities: 🌍 No net-zero without removals: Residual emissions will remain, and durable carbon removal is essential to reach net zero. ✅ Removals offer structural advantages: High-integrity carbon removal credits offer measurable, verifiable CO₂ removal, strong MRV, clear accounting, and a high level of trust. ⏳ Timing matters: Without an early EU demand signal, Europe risks a carbon removal supply gap in the 2030s, just as compliance demand rises. We therefore recommend: → Prioritising high-integrity carbon removal credits within the EU’s international credit mix, with their share increasing over time → Including removals from the outset in any pilot phase, ideally starting around 2031 to allow supply, verification, and infrastructure to scale Beyond climate impact, this is about European leadership: a clear demand signal can scale the global carbon removal market while positioning Europe at the forefront of technology and climate finance. This is a pivotal moment to align policy with science, markets, and long-term competitiveness. 📄 Read the full position paper here: https://lnkd.in/etG8pRKz. #CarbonMarkets #CarbonRemoval #ClimatePolicy #NetZero #EUClimate #CDR #Sustainability

Our Cocoa Biochar project in Ghana and High Tech Biochar project in India with Terrafront Ventures have been selected for The 2030 Portfolio, launched 2nd of April by CUR8 and Isometric. We work with smallholder farming communities in Ghana and India to convert agricultural waste into biochar, permanently storing carbon while enriching soils and boosting crop yields. Every batch is fully traceable through our proprietary dMRV technology across a distributed network of farmers. Built for corporate net zero buyers, the first five suppliers in the portfolio span five carbon removal technologies, with every credit risk-assessed by CUR8 and independently certified by Isometric. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e6vahCG6

Most of our time is spent working at the project sites (our team just returned - more about this soon) or in our office zooming in and focussing on biochar and our partner farmers. However, sometimes it is necessary to leave the sites and the office, zoom out and tell our bigger story to an audience to ensure we can scale our impact. It cost us a few trainrides and dealing with a spotty wifi connection but below you can find the result: Maarten de Lange and Anna Witteveen visited London earlier this month, where Maarten spoke at the Economist Impact Summit, together with Alice Ashpitel, Erik Rylander, Gabrielle Walker, and Christina Larkin, Ph.D.. The panel focussed on the co-benefits of the projects, or ‘core benefits’ (coined by the ever-inspiring Gabrielle Walker), and how Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team ultimately decided on what type of credits to buy. As the cherry on top, Mercedes announced that Carboneers becomes part of their new portfolio 🌻 They also joined the Global Biochar Commercialisation Summit, where Maarten led a session on ensuring qualitative dMRV technology from a project developer perspective; a practical deep dive into what it really takes to monitor and verify biochar production at scale. The session was fuelled by great insights with notable contributions from Richard Davis, Julien Jacob, and Aaron Benjamin on co-benefits liability, MRV ownership, and what it truly means to monitor biochar at scale. Meanwhile, our co-founder Berend de Haas joined Simon Bager, PhD on the Klimate podcast What Goes Up Must Come Down. Together they explored what it's like to run distributed biochar projects, the real-world impact Carboneers is creating on the ground, and what the future holds for biochar as a growing carbon removal solution in the Global South. As Berend puts it: "with 500 million smaller farmers worldwide, the untapped potential is enormous. But the biggest opportunity and challenge at the same time is bringing smart technological solutions into distributed biochar production, to ensure that what we claim to be doing is actually happening on the ground." Hear the full story from Berend himself, as biochar continues to grow in the carbon removal landscape. 🌍 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eWyzKBep Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eZQtuyKh #biochar #carbonremoval #climateaction #agritech