Regreener | B Corp

Platform

Over ons

Login

Start nu

Regreener | B Corp

laat ons je terugbellen.

Artisan Biochar India

Artisan Biochar India

9 Indian states

9 Indian states

4.0

4.0

C-Sink

C-Sink

Oxford Categorie:

5

5

Kopersbescherming

Investeer in dit project

Investeer in dit project

Navigeer naar…

Project Hoogtepunten

Projectgegevens

Details

Galerij & Locatie

Duurzame Ontwikkelingsdoelen

Development Goals

Beoordeling door Regreener

487,644

tCO2e validated

12

Artisan Biochar producers

9

Indian states

1,000

Years of storage

Carbon impact

Across India, cotton stalks, chili stalks and castor stalks are burned in the field after harvest. It is the fastest and cheapest way to clear land for the next cropping cycle, and it releases carbon dioxide, methane and fine particulate matter straight into the air that farming families breathe.

This project pays farmers to do something else with that residue. Trained Artisan Biochar Producers convert it into biochar using Kon-Tiki flame curtain kilns, a low-tech pyrolysis method accredited by Carbon Standards International. The carbon that would have gone up in smoke within a day instead becomes a solid, stable material that holds its carbon in the soil for up to 1,000 years.

CERES-CERT AG validated the project in December 2024 under the Global Artisan C-Sink Standard 2.1A, confirming projected removals of 487,644 tonnes of CO2e across the 2023 to 2027 period at a reasonable level of assurance and a 5% materiality threshold. The accounting behind that figure is deliberately cautious. Only the persistent aromatic carbon fraction of the biochar, fixed at 75% by the standard, counts toward permanent removals. A margin of security of 20 kg CO2e per tonne of biochar covers untracked emissions from feedstock collection, kiln transport, quenching and blending. Methane from pyrolysis is accounted at 30 kg CH4 per tonne of biochar, the conservative default in the standard, even though recent field measurements at the moisture levels this project requires put the real figure closer to 3.6 kg. Residual methane is compensated either by the avoided burning it displaces or by the cooling effect of the semi-persistent carbon fraction over its first 20 years.

Every tonne is tracked from feedstock to field. Circonomy's own digital MRV application, endorsed by Carbon Standards International, records feedstock type and moisture, batch volume, retention samples, the matrix the biochar is blended into and the GPS coordinates where it is finally applied. The project is deployed accross Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka provinces.

Impact on local communities

Biochar only reaches Indian fields at scale if farmers earn from making it. Before this project, there was no market for biochar-based fertilisers in most of these regions, production costs sat above the agronomic benefit, and smallholders had neither the training nor the equipment to produce it properly. Carbon finance closes that gap.

The network runs through implementing partners, mostly social enterprises and NGOs, who provide ground supervision and local support to 12 Artisan Biochar Producers, 8 of whom are already producing daily across six states. Each producer completes a training programme and passes an exam covering feedstock selection, biomass drying, kiln operation, volume measurement, sampling procedure and use of the monitoring app. Payment terms and producer compensation are governed by the project's internal control system and audited on site every year.

The biochar itself stays local. It is inoculated with compost, manure or a nutrient-rich solution and distributed back to nearby farms, with priority given to the farmers who supplied the residue in the first place. Applied to soil, it raises pH, improves water retention and holds nutrients in place, which lowers dependence on synthetic fertiliser at a time when input prices keep climbing. Alongside crop residues, the project takes in invasive species including Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus, turning a driver of land degradation into a carbon sink and freeing up grazing and fallow land in the process.

Carbon impact

Across India, cotton stalks, chili stalks and castor stalks are burned in the field after harvest. It is the fastest and cheapest way to clear land for the next cropping cycle, and it releases carbon dioxide, methane and fine particulate matter straight into the air that farming families breathe.

This project pays farmers to do something else with that residue. Trained Artisan Biochar Producers convert it into biochar using Kon-Tiki flame curtain kilns, a low-tech pyrolysis method accredited by Carbon Standards International. The carbon that would have gone up in smoke within a day instead becomes a solid, stable material that holds its carbon in the soil for up to 1,000 years.

CERES-CERT AG validated the project in December 2024 under the Global Artisan C-Sink Standard 2.1A, confirming projected removals of 487,644 tonnes of CO2e across the 2023 to 2027 period at a reasonable level of assurance and a 5% materiality threshold. The accounting behind that figure is deliberately cautious. Only the persistent aromatic carbon fraction of the biochar, fixed at 75% by the standard, counts toward permanent removals. A margin of security of 20 kg CO2e per tonne of biochar covers untracked emissions from feedstock collection, kiln transport, quenching and blending. Methane from pyrolysis is accounted at 30 kg CH4 per tonne of biochar, the conservative default in the standard, even though recent field measurements at the moisture levels this project requires put the real figure closer to 3.6 kg. Residual methane is compensated either by the avoided burning it displaces or by the cooling effect of the semi-persistent carbon fraction over its first 20 years.

Every tonne is tracked from feedstock to field. Circonomy's own digital MRV application, endorsed by Carbon Standards International, records feedstock type and moisture, batch volume, retention samples, the matrix the biochar is blended into and the GPS coordinates where it is finally applied. The project is deployed accross Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka provinces.

Impact on local communities

Biochar only reaches Indian fields at scale if farmers earn from making it. Before this project, there was no market for biochar-based fertilisers in most of these regions, production costs sat above the agronomic benefit, and smallholders had neither the training nor the equipment to produce it properly. Carbon finance closes that gap.

The network runs through implementing partners, mostly social enterprises and NGOs, who provide ground supervision and local support to 12 Artisan Biochar Producers, 8 of whom are already producing daily across six states. Each producer completes a training programme and passes an exam covering feedstock selection, biomass drying, kiln operation, volume measurement, sampling procedure and use of the monitoring app. Payment terms and producer compensation are governed by the project's internal control system and audited on site every year.

The biochar itself stays local. It is inoculated with compost, manure or a nutrient-rich solution and distributed back to nearby farms, with priority given to the farmers who supplied the residue in the first place. Applied to soil, it raises pH, improves water retention and holds nutrients in place, which lowers dependence on synthetic fertiliser at a time when input prices keep climbing. Alongside crop residues, the project takes in invasive species including Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus, turning a driver of land degradation into a carbon sink and freeing up grazing and fallow land in the process.

Carbon impact

Across India, cotton stalks, chili stalks and castor stalks are burned in the field after harvest. It is the fastest and cheapest way to clear land for the next cropping cycle, and it releases carbon dioxide, methane and fine particulate matter straight into the air that farming families breathe.

This project pays farmers to do something else with that residue. Trained Artisan Biochar Producers convert it into biochar using Kon-Tiki flame curtain kilns, a low-tech pyrolysis method accredited by Carbon Standards International. The carbon that would have gone up in smoke within a day instead becomes a solid, stable material that holds its carbon in the soil for up to 1,000 years.

CERES-CERT AG validated the project in December 2024 under the Global Artisan C-Sink Standard 2.1A, confirming projected removals of 487,644 tonnes of CO2e across the 2023 to 2027 period at a reasonable level of assurance and a 5% materiality threshold. The accounting behind that figure is deliberately cautious. Only the persistent aromatic carbon fraction of the biochar, fixed at 75% by the standard, counts toward permanent removals. A margin of security of 20 kg CO2e per tonne of biochar covers untracked emissions from feedstock collection, kiln transport, quenching and blending. Methane from pyrolysis is accounted at 30 kg CH4 per tonne of biochar, the conservative default in the standard, even though recent field measurements at the moisture levels this project requires put the real figure closer to 3.6 kg. Residual methane is compensated either by the avoided burning it displaces or by the cooling effect of the semi-persistent carbon fraction over its first 20 years.

Every tonne is tracked from feedstock to field. Circonomy's own digital MRV application, endorsed by Carbon Standards International, records feedstock type and moisture, batch volume, retention samples, the matrix the biochar is blended into and the GPS coordinates where it is finally applied. The project is deployed accross Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka provinces.

Impact on local communities

Biochar only reaches Indian fields at scale if farmers earn from making it. Before this project, there was no market for biochar-based fertilisers in most of these regions, production costs sat above the agronomic benefit, and smallholders had neither the training nor the equipment to produce it properly. Carbon finance closes that gap.

The network runs through implementing partners, mostly social enterprises and NGOs, who provide ground supervision and local support to 12 Artisan Biochar Producers, 8 of whom are already producing daily across six states. Each producer completes a training programme and passes an exam covering feedstock selection, biomass drying, kiln operation, volume measurement, sampling procedure and use of the monitoring app. Payment terms and producer compensation are governed by the project's internal control system and audited on site every year.

The biochar itself stays local. It is inoculated with compost, manure or a nutrient-rich solution and distributed back to nearby farms, with priority given to the farmers who supplied the residue in the first place. Applied to soil, it raises pH, improves water retention and holds nutrients in place, which lowers dependence on synthetic fertiliser at a time when input prices keep climbing. Alongside crop residues, the project takes in invasive species including Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus, turning a driver of land degradation into a carbon sink and freeing up grazing and fallow land in the process.

What is Biochar

When plant biomass burns or decomposes, the carbon it absorbed returns to the atmosphere within months. Pyrolysis interrupts that cycle. Heating biomass without oxygen converts roughly half of its carbon into a solid, highly aromatic material that resists microbial breakdown for centuries.

In this project, that happens in a Kon-Tiki kiln. A fire is lit in a conical metal kiln and biomass is added in thin layers. The rising pyrolysis gas is caught and burned in a flame curtain above the load, which cleanly combusts the smoke and shields the biochar below from oxidising. The process ends by quenching with water or a nutrient solution fed in from beneath. It requires no fossil fuel to start and no industrial equipment, which is what makes it viable on a smallholding.

Biochar produced this way reaches treatment temperatures above 650 degrees Celsius and an H/Corg ratio well below 0.4. Under the Global Artisan C-Sink Standard that qualifies it as 75% persistent aromatic carbon, the fraction that constitutes a carbon sink for millennia, with the remaining 25% classified as semi-persistent carbon with a mean residence time of around 50 years. Only the persistent fraction is registered as a permanent removal, and every registered sink is recorded in the Global C-Sink Registry with its feedstock, production date, application date and geolocation.

Certificeringsstandaard


Certification Standard

Carbon Standards International develops standards and system solutions for climate-positive agriculture, forestry and industry, and for the upstream and downstream sectors. Among these is the Global Artisan C-Sink Standard, which governs the production, processing and application of biochar in agriculture in low, lower-middle and higher-middle-income countries.

All aspects of the biochar's quality are monitored and documented, and C-sink credits are generated by applying that biochar for agricultural purposes. This project is certified under version 2.1A of the standard and carries project ID GCSP1019 in the Global C-Sink Registry. Validation was carried out by CERES-CERT AG, the independent third-party auditing body for Carbon Standards International, with the validation statement issued on 19 December 2024. All Artisan Producers are inspected on site annually as part of ongoing verification.

SDG's van de Verenigde Naties

Producers are paid for the biochar they make, funded by carbon credit sales. For smallholders whose crop residue previously had no value at all, this is a second income stream that arrives after harvest, when cash is tightest.

The biochar goes back into local fields. It improves soil pH, water retention and nutrient availability, which raises yields and reduces the amount farmers need to spend on synthetic fertiliser to get them.

Open burning of cotton and chili stalks releases dense smoke and fine particulate matter, including PM2.5, one of the primary air pollutants affecting human health in Indian farming regions. Pyrolysis in a Kon-Tiki kiln burns the pyrolysis gas cleanly in a flame curtain instead.

Every Artisan Biochar Producer completes formal training and passes an exam before producing certified biochar. Payment terms and producer compensation sit inside an internal control system that is audited on site each year.

Agricultural residue that was treated as waste becomes a traded soil amendment. The project's yield factor of 0.25 tonnes of biochar per tonne of dry feedstock puts a measurable value on material that was previously burned to clear a field.

Only the persistent aromatic carbon fraction of the biochar, 75% of the total, is registered as a permanent removal, and it holds that carbon for up to 1,000 years. Fossil emissions inside the project boundary are offset against registered permanent sinks before any credit is issued.

Alongside crop residues, the project converts invasive species such as Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus into biochar. Left unmanaged these species spread across grassland and fallow land, reducing productivity and disrupting water cycles.

The network runs through implementing partners, mostly social enterprises and NGOs, who provide local training and ground supervision. Circonomy acts as C-Sink Manager and technology provider, with Circonomy Bio-Waste as its Indian representative.

SDG's van de Verenigde Naties

Producers are paid for the biochar they make, funded by carbon credit sales. For smallholders whose crop residue previously had no value at all, this is a second income stream that arrives after harvest, when cash is tightest.

The biochar goes back into local fields. It improves soil pH, water retention and nutrient availability, which raises yields and reduces the amount farmers need to spend on synthetic fertiliser to get them.

Open burning of cotton and chili stalks releases dense smoke and fine particulate matter, including PM2.5, one of the primary air pollutants affecting human health in Indian farming regions. Pyrolysis in a Kon-Tiki kiln burns the pyrolysis gas cleanly in a flame curtain instead.

Every Artisan Biochar Producer completes formal training and passes an exam before producing certified biochar. Payment terms and producer compensation sit inside an internal control system that is audited on site each year.

Agricultural residue that was treated as waste becomes a traded soil amendment. The project's yield factor of 0.25 tonnes of biochar per tonne of dry feedstock puts a measurable value on material that was previously burned to clear a field.

Only the persistent aromatic carbon fraction of the biochar, 75% of the total, is registered as a permanent removal, and it holds that carbon for up to 1,000 years. Fossil emissions inside the project boundary are offset against registered permanent sinks before any credit is issued.

Alongside crop residues, the project converts invasive species such as Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus into biochar. Left unmanaged these species spread across grassland and fallow land, reducing productivity and disrupting water cycles.

The network runs through implementing partners, mostly social enterprises and NGOs, who provide local training and ground supervision. Circonomy acts as C-Sink Manager and technology provider, with Circonomy Bio-Waste as its Indian representative.

Beoordeling door Regreener

Artisan biochar sits in an unusual position in the removals market. The technology is simple enough that a smallholder can run it with a metal cone and a day of training, yet the durability of the resulting carbon sink is measured in centuries, which is more than most nature-based projects can claim. Circonomy's Indian network shows what that combination looks like when the accounting is done conservatively. What we like most about this project is the direction of its assumptions. It counts methane from pyrolysis at 30 kg CH4 per tonne of biochar, the standard's default, when its own moisture requirements point to a figure closer to 3.6 kg. It applies a 20 kg CO2e per tonne margin of security for emissions it does not track in detail rather than arguing them away. It registers only the 75% persistent fraction as a permanent removal. Each of those choices reduces the number of credits the project can sell, which is the right signal to see in a project document. The per-load digital monitoring is the second reason we rate it. Feedstock type, moisture content, batch volume, retention sample, blending matrix and the GPS coordinates of final application are all captured in the field on a smartphone, and all Artisan Producers are inspected annually rather than sampled. For a distributed network of smallholder producers, that level of traceability is harder to achieve than it is for a single industrial facility, and it is where comparable artisan projects usually fall short. Buyers should understand two things about where this project is in its lifecycle. First, the validated figure of 487,644 tCO2e is an ex-ante projection for 2023 to 2027, and it is heavily weighted toward the later years: year one accounts for roughly 10,000 tonnes of permanent removals against more than 258,000 in year five. Delivery at that scale depends on the producer network growing substantially, and issued volume in the near term will be a fraction of the headline number. Second, the Global Artisan C-Sink Standard is not among the standards currently carrying an ICVCM Core Carbon Principles label, which matters for buyers with a procurement policy that requires one. Neither point undermines the integrity of a tonne produced by this project. Both affect how much of it you can buy today, and we will tell you exactly what is available before you commit.

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

5

5

0

1

2

3

4

4.9

5

Beoordeelt het algehele projectontwerp, de methodologie, doelen en opzet.

Beoordeelt het algehele projectontwerp, de methodologie, doelen en opzet.

Algemene projectgegevens

Algemene projectgegevens

Algemene projectgegevens

4.2

4.2

4.3

4.3

Evalueert daadwerkelijke, verifieerbare broeikasgasreducties (CO₂-equivalent tonnage, permanentie).

Evalueert daadwerkelijke, verifieerbare broeikasgasreducties (CO₂-equivalent tonnage, permanentie).

CO2 impact

CO2 impact

CO2 impact

Beoordeelt de positieve impact op biodiversiteit, lokale gemeenschappen en de veerkracht van ecosystemen.

Beoordeelt de positieve impact op biodiversiteit, lokale gemeenschappen en de veerkracht van ecosystemen.

Nevenvoordelen

Nevenvoordelen

Nevenvoordelen

4.0

4.0

Evalueert projectverantwoordelijkheid, controleert nauwkeurigheid en de betrouwbaarheid van gerapporteerde resultaten.

Evalueert projectverantwoordelijkheid, controleert nauwkeurigheid en de betrouwbaarheid van gerapporteerde resultaten.

Rapportage & dMRV

Rapportage & dMRV

Rapportage & dMRV

Beoordelingen in overeenstemming met normen, marktkredibiliteit en bescherming van reputatie.

Beoordelingen in overeenstemming met normen, marktkredibiliteit en bescherming van reputatie.

Naleving & Reputatie

Naleving & Reputatie

Naleving & Reputatie

Volledige analyse

Volledige analyse

Algemene gewogen score

4.07 / 5

4.07 / 5

Begin met het steunen van dit hoogwaardige project

Portrait of a climate strategist
Portrait of a climate strategist

Voer uw gegevens in en ons team neemt contact op over de volgende stappen.

Begin met het steunen van dit hoogwaardige project

Portrait of a climate strategist
Portrait of a climate strategist

Voer uw gegevens in en ons team neemt contact op over de volgende stappen.

Ja, ik wil meer weten