7 min read

It's Time for a Biochar Advance Market Commitment

Frontier Climate proves that AMCs work. The same model could work for agriculture, removing carbon faster and cheaper, while also supporting farmers.

By Devin Copenhaver, Commercial Lead at Valorize image

Building the Infrastructure for Net Zero

Carbon removal (CDR) is finally gaining traction. High-durability CDR purchases nearly doubled in 2024 even as the broader voluntary carbon market contracted. That's real progress, but there's a gap.

Investment is flowing into innovative technologies that won't scale until the 2030s. These solutions—direct air capture, marine carbon removal, and enhanced rock weathering to name a few—matter for the long term but are still in development. Meanwhile, we emit 57 GtCO2e annually. We need solutions that can scale today.

Enter biochar: a proven technology with sound economics. This unassuming carbon solution turns organic matter into a charcoal-like material that can sequester carbon for hundreds of years. As a product, it can be used to enrich soils and limit the need for synthetic fertilizers. And it’s sitting right there in the field.

So what’s stopping major food companies from converting a collective 140 billion tons of annual crop waste into biochar?

These companies have the requisite residues, the supply chain infrastructure, and the sustainability mandates. And yet, biochar struggles to attract funding beyond small-scale trials. Put simply, the right market structure doesn’t exist yet.

Why Biochar, Why Now

Biochar isn't a moonshot; it's a practical climate solution with the immediate co-benefits that agriculture needs. In cocoa, for example, biochar delivers 10-25% higher yields during drought stress, a crucial outcome for farmers facing increasingly volatile weather. Biochar is also supply chain insurance for buyers watching commodity prices triple because of crop failures. Even more impressive is the scale. This ready-to-deploy technology could sequester 2.6-10.3 gigatons of CO₂ annually—nearly a third of all annual emissions.

Despite these obvious benefits, biochar is still a niche solution. In order for biochar to fully scale, companies need proof that it will benefit the bottom line. Developers need commitments before installing pyrolysis units—machines that convert organic waste into biochar. And banks need financial guarantees before lending. An Advance Market Commitment breaks the impasse by pooling commitments from multiple buyers, which in turn grants developers the assurances they need to secure project financing.

Frontier is Proof that AMCs Work

We already have proof that Advance Market Commitments work. Frontier Climate is a $1 billion+ AMC that was launched in 2022 by Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability. These companies collectively pledged to buy CDR credits from emerging technologies through 2030.

Before Frontier, breakthrough carbon removal technologies faced a chicken-and-egg problem. They couldn't scale without customers, but customers wouldn't commit without proof of scalability.

Frontier introduced multi-year purchases at fixed prices. Suddenly, startups could go to banks with binding purchase agreements worth millions. Infrastructure could get built. Technologies could move from pilot to commercial scale.

And the results speak for themselves. As of October 2025, Frontier has contracted with over 50 suppliers across more than 45 carbon removal projects, supporting a cumulative value exceeding $585 million in offtakes and prepurchases. Technologies that were stuck in the lab now have industrial facilities under construction. The AMC didn't just buy carbon credits; it propelled an entire industry. Biochar needs the same intervention.

What $60 Million Could Unlock in Cocoa and Coffee

Imagine if three major consumer brands jointly committed $60 million over five years to a biochar AMC. That's $12 million pledged annually, which is just a fraction of existing brand commitments. Over five years, this collective investment in the AMC could mean 150,000 tons of biochar produced and 300,000-400,000 tCO2e removed.

What’s more, guaranteed biochar purchases unlock debt financing at 3:1 to 4:1 ratios, multiplying the $60M commitment to $180-240M+ in project financing.

If $60M seems like a hefty upfront investment, consider that Nestlé's Nescafé Plan recently promised to invest over $1 billion by 2030, while Mars has committed $250 million to its Sustainability Investment Fund.

The Key Ingredient: Field Research

Lots of companies are exploring biochar today, but few are sharing results, and most aren’t able to run multiple large-scale trials. Pooling resources through an AMC gives companies the chance to share research across commodity types and sourcing regions.

These trails could provide supplier-specific data on yield impacts and drought resilience within participanting supply chains, answering the critical question: "Does biochar actually benefit our supply chain?"

We Don't Have to Choose

On the road to net zero, we don't need to pick between direct air capture and biochar, between breakthrough technologies and agricultural pragmatism. We need it all.

But right now the CDR market is heavily weighted toward future solutions while proven options struggle for funding. The carbon removal tent needs to be bigger, and it needs to include solutions that can scale today.

Biochar is inevitable. The question is whether agrifood companies will lead its development or wait and pay premium prices as others build the infrastructure.

Establishing Next Steps

If your company sources commodities vulnerable to climate volatility, namely, cocoa, coffee, grains, or anything grown in increasingly unstable conditions, biochar should be part of the conversation.

Interested in learning more? Fill out the contact form below and we’ll send you a concept memo that includes sample deployment scenarios, governance framework, and pre-competitive trialing protocols for a biochar AMC.

For institutional investors, CPGs, or organizations interested in serving as the governing partner for this AMC, we'd welcome the chance to discuss how this approach could work for your financial and environmental goals.

References

  1. Carbon removal market growth: The carbon removal market experienced significant growth in 2024, with high-durability CDR purchases reaching approximately 8 million metric tons compared to 4.5 million in 2023 (~78% year-over-year increase). Source: CDR.fyi 2024 report; Carbon Direct's State of the Voluntary Carbon Market 2024

  2. Global emissions (57 GtCO2e annually): IPCC Emissions Gap Report 2024

  3. Agricultural residues (140 billion tons globally): Nature Climate and Atmospheric Science (2019), "Biomass waste utilisation in low-carbon products"; Discover Environment (2024), "Thermochemical and biochemical conversion of agricultural waste"

  4. Biochar carbon removal credit prices ($150+ per credit): CDR.fyi 2024 report; carbon credit marketplace data 2024-2025 showing small-volume BCR deals at $100-200+ per tonne with some premium transactions exceeding $500/tCO2e

  5. Biochar yield improvements (10-25% during drought): Multiple studies document biochar's impact on crop productivity under stress conditions. Conservative field trial data shows approximately 10% productivity increase in cocoa systems with biochar application.

  6. Biochar sequestration potential (2.6-10.3 gigatons CO₂ annually): IPCC Climate Change 2022 report: 2.6 billion tons CO₂/year potential; Nature Communications Earth & Environment (2025): "Recent independent assessments estimate sustainable mitigation potential of biochar systems at 2.6-10.3 Pg CO2 equivalent yr−1"

  7. Cocoa price volatility: UNCTAD (2024) reports cocoa prices increased 136% between July 2022 and February 2024, with prices subsequently exceeding $10,000 per tonne - more than tripling from prior year averages

  8. Frontier Climate: $1B+ commitment launched 2022 by Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify, McKinsey Sustainability; contracted with over 50 suppliers across more than 45 carbon removal projects as of October 2025 (Frontier Climate official announcements and portfolio data, 2025)

  9. Biochar sequestration potential: Multiple studies document 2–3 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of biochar produced, depending on feedstock and production methods.

  10. Nestlé Nescafé Plan 2030: Over $1 billion investment commitment through 2030 (Nestlé corporate sustainability reports)

  11. Mars Sustainability Investment Fund: $250 million commitment (Mars Incorporated press releases)

  12. Nestlé cocoa procurement (430,000 tons): Nestlé annual reports and corporate disclosures

  13. Mars cocoa procurement (350,000-400,000 tons): Mars Incorporated supply chain data and corporate reports