Market
January 20, 2025
Google has announced its first purchase of carbon credits generated from biochar. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
In pursuit of its net zero target, Google has announced its first purchase of carbon credits generated from biochar. On Jan. 16, the tech giant revealed long-term agreements with Indian startup Varaha and U.S.-based Charm Industrial, with plans to buy the equivalent of 200,000 tons of biochar carbon credits by the end of 2030.
Google eyes biochar for carbon sequestration
Varaha CEO Madhur Jain shared the news on LinkedIn, stating that this marks Google’s first large-scale emissions reduction partnership in India. Google will be the first buyer of biochar carbon credits from Varaha’s facility in Gujarat, although the transaction price remains undisclosed.
Founded in 2022, Varaha primarily works with small farmers in Asia, using biochar technology to permanently store CO2 in solid form. The company expects to generate 25,000 carbon credits in 2024 and claims to be the largest player in this sector in India.
Jain emphasized that Google’s support would accelerate the development of carbon removal technologies for small farmers in regions like India, proving the feasibility of such projects. In addition to Google, Swiss Re, the Swiss reinsurance company, is also a buyer of Varaha’s carbon credits.
Biochar is produced by heating organic agricultural and forestry waste, such as rice husks and sawdust, in a process called pyrolysis. This process absorbs and sequesters CO2, resulting in a negative carbon effect.
.jpg)
Biochar production process captures and sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere. (Photo: MIT Climate)
Google extends collaboration with Charm Industrial
Another company partnering with Google is Charm Industrial, based in California. The two companies are extending their collaboration through Frontier Climate, a carbon removal alliance made up of large corporations. Charm Industrial plans to deliver 100,000 biochar-based carbon credits to Google by 2030, with pricing details still undisclosed.
Prior to this, Charm Industrial and Google had already worked together on a carbon removal project involving bio-oil. Bio-oil is produced by pyrolyzing biomass and converting it into oil, which is then injected and stored underground.
Google partners with U.S. startup Charm Industrial for the second time. (Image: Charm Industrial)
According to Charm Industrial’s website, its technology is highly efficient, converting one ton of biomass into 0.2 tons of biochar and 0.5 tons of bio-oil, sequestering approximately one ton of CO2.
As AI-driven data center energy consumption increases, Google acknowledged in its 2024 environmental report that its carbon emissions have grown by nearly 50% over the past five years. The company announced its focus on advancing carbon removal technologies, supporting solutions like biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture.
Source: Google, Business Times, ESG Dive, Carbon Herald