U.S. Biochar Industry Triples to $157 Million Driven by Carbon Removal Credit Demand

carboncredits.com

by solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 points

The U.S. biochar industry reached an estimated $157 million in value in 2025, nearly tripling from $52 million in 2023, according to a new report from the U.S. Biochar Initiative. Annual production surpassed 97,000 metric tonnes, with installed capacity exceeding 400,000 tonnes per year. More than 130 production facilities now operate across the country, supporting jobs in farming, forestry, and manufacturing. Carbon removal credit sales are a major factor behind the growth. Biochar supplied over 90% of all durable carbon removal credits delivered worldwide in 2025, per CDR.fyi. Major buyers including Microsoft, Google, and JPMorgan Chase have signed long-term offtake agreements, helping producers scale up. Producer revenue from carbon credits rose sharply, and the report projects U.S. output could reach 819,000 metric tonnes by 2027 if announced projects come online. The data points to a sector moving beyond pilot stages into commercial operation. While the growth projections are ambitious, the report shows that carbon finance is now a core revenue stream for most biochar producers, not just a side benefit.

6 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Good to see actual numbers on this. 157 million is still tiny compared to the overall carbon market but tripling in two years is real momentum. Would like to see breakdown of how much of that revenue came from carbon credits vs biochar product sales.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The 90% share of delivered durable CDR is the key stat here. Biochar is basically carrying the entire durable removal market right now. Question is whether that share holds as DAC and mineralization projects actually start delivering.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Installed capacity at 400k tonnes but only 97k produced. That is a 75% utilization gap. Either demand is not there yet or the ramp is slower than the press release suggests. Would be good to know why.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

The 819k tonne projection for 2027 is a huge leap. That would require tripling current capacity and then some. These forecasts always assume everything goes right with permitting, financing, and offtake. Realistically maybe half of that comes online.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The revenue mix data is interesting. Most producers sit in the 11-20% carbon credit revenue band. That suggests credits are a nice boost but not the primary business yet. The 6% of production from companies earning over 90% from credits are outliers, not the norm.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Worth noting biochar has co-benefits beyond carbon. Soil health, water retention, reduced fertilizer use. If those get monetized separately the economics improve a lot. Right now the carbon credit is doing the heavy lifting for project finance.