Carbon Ratings

Sylvera’s New Biochar Framework: Ensuring Quality and Trust in Carbon Projects

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The use of biochar dates back thousands of years, when indigenous civilizations discovered that adding charred biomass to soil improved fertility. In recent years, biochar has gained renewed attention for its potential to combat climate change, thanks to its ability to sequester carbon. This has led to the rise of biochar production projects aimed at generating carbon credits.

But what exactly is biochar, and why is it significant?

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What is Biochar?

Biochar is a carbon-rich material created through pyrolysis, a process that involves heating organic biomass—such as agricultural residues or forestry waste—under low-oxygen conditions. During pyrolysis, not all carbon becomes biochar. Some are converted into bio-oil and syngas, but the remaining biochar is stable, carbon-dense, and has multiple applications, including soil enhancement and carbon removal.

Biochar projects are emerging as a key method for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) because they lock carbon into a stable form for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

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Market potential

Carbon markets are increasingly embracing biochar as a credible CDR solution. Studies have projected that biochar could sequester between 143 GtCO₂ (Caldecott et al., 2015) and 477 GtCO₂ (IPCC, 2013) by 2100.

In 2023, biochar projects delivered over 90% of all issued carbon credits from removal projects, driving global market valuation to $600 million. Methodologies from registries like Puro.Earth, Isometric, and Carbon Standards are helping to facilitate biochar’s growth in the voluntary carbon market.

However, the market is still young. Like other biomass-based projects, biochar projects may face challenges around Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and leakage assessment, where an increase in biochar production could unintentionally drive demand for fossil fuels.

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Introducing Sylvera’s Biochar Framework

To address these concerns and provide greater confidence in biochar projects, Sylvera has developed a new Biochar Ratings Framework. This framework evaluates projects to ensure they meet robust criteria for carbon removal, permanence, and economic feasibility.

Our approach follows Sylvera’s standard of rigorous, data-driven assessment, shaped by a 10+ strong team of internal and external experts. The framework builds upon dozens of academic studies and leverages Sylvera’s proprietary Field Data Science and Machine Learning datasets.

To ensure quality and trust, the framework has undergone peer reviews and oversight by an external Framework Review Committee.

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Engagement with the industry

At Sylvera, collaboration is key. We work closely with biochar project developers to gather up-to-date, real-world data on project activities, life cycle assessments, and financial models. Our Assessments Team analyzes both developer-provided and public data to ensure transparency and reliability.

When developers engage in good faith, they receive their rating results with the opportunity to provide feedback. Even after publication, we stay engaged, addressing any concerns or new data within 30 days.

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Biochar Ratings Now Available on the Sylvera Platform

With this in mind, today we’ve launched our first Durable CDR Ratings, which are already available on our platform.

These new Biochar Ratings are a significant milestone. And, with our commitment to accuracy, our Biochar Rating framework sets a new standard in the market here.

Already using the Sylvera platform? Just log into the platform now to explore the new Ratings in detail.

Or, if you're not using our platform yet, you can request a demo here.

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