Buyers and Offtakes
Chapter on who buys biochar carbon removal (BCR), how concentrated demand is, and which public offtakes shape the market. Research date 2026-09-14. Volumes and dates only when sourced; full deal table in Historical Deals.
Related: Market Hub · Market Volumes and Pricing · Supply Landscape · Durable CDR Quality Tiers · Puro Pricing and CORC Indexes · Risks and Controversies · Industry Hub
1. Demand structure at a glance
| Feature | Public signal | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Unique BCR purchasers | 290 (since 2022) | Snapshot 2025 |
| Top-4 BCR share | Microsoft + Google + BCG + JPMorgan ≈ 57% | Snapshot 2025 |
| Microsoft BCR share | ≈ 46% of cumulative BCR contracted | Snapshot 2025 |
| Long tail | Majority of purchasers <100 t; median ~73–90 t | Snapshot 2025 |
| Entry method | BCR is the most common first durable CDR purchase by buyer count (~5× next method) | Snapshot 2025 |
| Q1 2026 Microsoft share | ~43% of durable CDR contracted that quarter | Q1 2026 |
| Intermediaries | 74% of Q1 2026 tonnes facilitated by intermediaries | Q1 2026 |
Takeaway: A few catalytic buyers set megatonne headlines; a long tail of small trials creates the unique-buyer count. Strategy shifts by Microsoft (or a small peer set) can move the market—see Risks and Controversies.
2. Corporate purchaser archetypes
2.1 Diversified durable-CDR majors
For Microsoft, Google, BCG, and JPMorgan, Snapshot 2025 notes BCR is ≤35% of each firm’s durable CDR portfolio—they also buy BECCS, DAC, EW, mCDR, etc.
| Buyer | Role in BCR | Illustrative public offtakes |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Largest single BCR (and durable CDR) purchaser | Exomad >32 kt (2023); Carba 44 kt (2025); Exomad ≥1.24 Mt (2025); Liferaft 1 Mt (2026) — Historical Deals |
| Large diversified buyer; first named biochar megadeals Jan 2025 | Varaha + Charm biochar 100 kt each by 2030; AMP 200 kt by 2030 | |
| BCG | Top-4 BCR purchaser (volume share in Snapshot aggregate) | Deal-level volumes not fully broken out in abridged Snapshot |
| JPMorgan | Top-4 BCR purchaser; also Frontier member context | Deal-level volumes not fully broken out in abridged Snapshot |
2.2 BCR-dominant / BCR-exclusive portfolios
Snapshot 2025 highlights four purchasers that rely almost exclusively on BCR:
| Buyer | BCR share of CDR (Snapshot) | Stated rationale themes |
|---|---|---|
| Swiss Re | 99% BCR | Integrity, durability, scalability, social co-benefits; geographic diversification |
| SEB | 100% BCR | CORCs via Puro.earth Overview; ≥100-year durability; multi-supplier diversification |
| Tide Platform | 100% BCR | Scope 1–3 neutralization via durable removals; suppliers cited: Exomad Green & Wakefield Biochar |
| Nasdaq | 100% BCR | Marketplace integrity narrative; majority investor in Puro.earth |
Swiss Re also led Q1 2026 retirements (~14 kt), showing claim-use activity beyond contracting (Q1 2026).
2.3 Financing vehicles & intermediaries as “buyers”
| Actor | Type | Public BCR signal |
|---|---|---|
| Altitude | CDR financing fund (launched Feb 2025 per CDR.fyi) | Empacar >305 kt CORCs; cumulative 1.45 Mt contracted (3rd-largest purchaser per Q1 2026) |
| Supercritical | Marketplace / intermediary | Facilitated Liferaft–Microsoft; up to 500 kt Exomad (Apr 2026); Q1 2026 top intermediary by tonnes (~1.5 Mt / 88% of facilitated tonnes in Q1 2026) |
| Senken | Intermediary | 105 kt Exomad to undisclosed buyers (Q1 2026) |
| Frontier buyers | Advance market commitment | Q1 2026: >210 kt across 6 deals (57% BiCRS—not all biochar) |
| Carbonfuture | dMRV / offtake infrastructure | Embedded in Microsoft–Exomad deals (MRV+) |
Other intermediaries with >1,000 t in Q1 2026 (CDR.fyi list): Watershed, Climeworks Solutions, Patch, Cnaught, Carbonplace, First Climate, Ecologi Action, South Pole, Milkywire, Carbon Direct.
2.4 Other named Q1 2026 purchasers (mixed methods)
| Buyer | Q1 2026 note | BCR relevance |
|---|---|---|
| TD Bank | 44 kt from Charm Industrial over 10 years | Charm path may include bio-oil / other BiCRS—confirm before BCR-only tallies |
| Bain & Company | ~15 kt across 6 suppliers (DAC, mineralization, BCR, biomass storage); retired ~10 kt | Diversified sampler |
| Ecologi | 3,935 t BCR from 5 suppliers | Platform aggregator |
| Mercedes-Benz AG | Retired 3.6 kt | Retirement leaderboard |
3. Why these buyers choose BCR
Synthesized from public statements collected in Snapshot 2025 (not invented):
- Ready-now — shorter path from contract to delivery than many engineered peers (Market Volumes and Pricing).
- Cost-efficient relative to DAC/BECCS — qualitative consensus; exact premiums unpublished.
- Start-small optionality — trials under 100 t lower organizational barriers.
- MRV / standard trust — Puro CORCs, Isometric modules, CCP labels, dMRV (Carbonfuture).
- Co-benefits — soil, air quality, community, waste diversion (deal-specific).
- Permanence framing — ≥100y / several centuries / 1000y depending on pathway (Durable CDR Quality Tiers · Permanence Science for Credits).
Nasdaq additionally frames purchases as supporting marketplace scale and UN SDG co-benefits (Snapshot).
4. Notable offtake clusters (narrative)
Microsoft–Exomad–Carbonfuture (Bolivia)
- Dec 2023: >32,000 t via Carbonfuture MRV+; Puro Standard; delivery by Jun 2024 (Carbonfuture).
- May 2025: ≥1.24 Mt / 10 years; Puro Biochar Methodology; Forest Monitoring Center + dMRV contractually embedded (Exomad).
Microsoft–Liferaft–Supercritical (US Midwest)
- Mar 2026: 1 Mt CRUs / 10 years; Iowa & Illinois; compost-blended biochar; ICROA-endorsed registry (unnamed in release) (Liferaft).
Google biochar book
- Jan 2025: 100 kt each from Varaha and Charm biochar by 2030 (Google).
- Mar 2026: 200 ktCO₂e from AMP by 2030; MSW organics → biochar (AMP).
Altitude–Empacar (Bolivia CORCs)
- Mar 2026: >305 kt CORCs; Puro or equivalent (Altitude).
Near-term inventory: Supercritical–Exomad
- Apr 2026: Up to 500 kt over 3 years; remaining 2026 inventory + 2027–28; Puro (Supercritical).
High-durability niche: Microsoft–Carba–Isometric
- Apr 2025: 44 kt / 5 years; landfill burial; Isometric 1,000-year durability (Carba).
5. Concentration risk & market fragility
| Risk | Evidence | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer concentration | Microsoft ~46% cumulative BCR (Snapshot); ~43% of Q1 2026 durable CDR (Q1 2026) | Demand shock if strategy/pacing changes |
| Slow unique-buyer growth | +7% unique purchasers in 2024; first-time buyers −18% (YIR) | Volume growth ≠ broad market deepening |
| Delivery lag | ~22% of cumulative contracted BCR delivered by end-Q2 2025 (Snapshot) | Forward books can outrun physical capacity |
| Intermediary dependence | 74% of Q1 2026 tonnes (Q1 2026) | Diligence quality and fee stacks matter for mid-market buyers |
Broader risk map: Risks and Controversies. Volume math: Market Volumes and Pricing.
6. Quality screens buyers use
See Durable CDR Quality Tiers. Registry touchpoints:
- Puro CORC200+ · Puro.earth Overview · Puro Pricing and CORC Indexes
- Verra VM0044 (CCP-Approved methodology)
- Isometric Biochar Protocol
- CSI Global Biochar C-Sink
7. Gaps
- Incomplete public disclosure of BCG/JPMorgan/Swiss Re deal-level volumes in abridged posts.
- Confidential purchasers displayed as “Confidential” in CDR.fyi.
- Unit prices almost never disclosed on megadeals.
- Portfolio shares (BCR %) may change after each quarter—re-check CDR.fyi.
Primary citations
- CDR.fyi Biochar Snapshot 2025
- CDR.fyi 2026 Q1 Update
- CDR.fyi 2024 YIR
- Press links in Historical Deals · Key Sources
See also
Market Hub · Historical Deals · Supply Landscape · Market Volumes and Pricing · Durable CDR Quality Tiers · Puro Pricing and CORC Indexes · Industry Hub · Carbon Markets Hub · Biochar Home · Key Sources