Google has entered into the world’s largest biochar carbon sequestration deal with Indian startup Varaha

Google has agreed to buy 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide from India’s Varaha, its first carbon project in India and the largest biochar produced from biomass (also known as traditional coal or the “black gold” of soil).

The contract will be awarded to Google by 2030 from the Varaha project in western India’s Gujarat state, the two companies said on Thursday.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Currently, the New Delhi-based startup is the only Indian company to be listed on the air quality and registry Puro.Earth.

Biochar is produced in two ways: artisanal and industrial. The technical process is human-driven, where farmers burn crop residues in incinerators without the use of machinery. In contrast, industrial biochar is produced using large equipment that processes 50-60 tons of biomass per day.

The Varaha project will produce industrial biochar from waste plants, Prosopis Juliflorausing its pyrolysis plant in Gujarat. These invasive species affect a wide range of plant life and have invaded the grasses used for livestock. Varaha will harvest the crop and work to restore grass in the area, the company’s founder and CEO, Madhur Jain, said in an interview. Once the biochar is produced, a third-party evaluator will submit their report to Puro.Earth to create a profile.

Although biochar appears to be a long-term carbon removal option, its sustainability can vary between 1,000 and 2,500 years depending on production and environmental factors.

In context: Carbon credit is associated with how much carbon can be removed from the atmosphere by paying for the carbon emissions produced by sustainable activities. Greenhouse gases have a significant impact on the atmosphere, over hundreds or thousands of years, so any effective carbon credit program must promise the same long-term emissions reduction. “Fixation,” here, refers to how long carbon is stored in the soil before it returns to the atmosphere.

Jain told TechCrunch that Varaha experimented with using different foods and different phases inside his reactors to find the best combination to achieve stability for about 1,600 years.

The startup has also developed a digital monitoring, reporting and verification system, including remote sensing to monitor biomass availability. It also has a mobile app that takes geo-tagged, time-stamped photos to document activities, including biomass extraction and biochar field applications.

With its first project, Varaha said it processed 40,000 tons of biomass and produced 10,000 tons of biochar last year.

“Even if we do not increase our capacity, we have already reached a level where we can successfully produce 40,000 tons of biomass per year, which means we can easily reach 100,000 tons of biochar by 2030,” he said. Jain said.

He said that each ton of biochar generates 2.5 carbon credits, and the startup aims to reach 1 million credits per year by 2030.

Carbon credits have become important as companies produce more greenhouse gases, and each credit is equivalent to reducing one ton of carbon dioxide. By purchasing carbon credits, companies can support sustainable projects in an effort to reduce their emissions.

Google has set a new record with this partnership, since the last project to remove biochar gas was Senken and Exomad Green, including 81,600 tons of biochar carbon credits between 2025-2028. However, Google and Varaha’s activities are small compared to the giant’s carbon footprint.

In 2023, the research giant had more greenhouse gases around 14.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (air)13% more than a year ago. The steady growth of AI development is expected to increase over time, even though Google says it wants to catch up. Net-zero emissions across its operations and value chains by 2030.

“Biochar is a promising option for carbon removal because it can be grown globally, using existing technology, with positive effects on soil health,” said Randy Spock, Google’s head of carbon removal, in a statement.

Varaha currently runs 14 carbon-efficient projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Kenya. The startup has also converted more than 100,000 smallholder farmers to sustainable practices, helping to offset more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. It has raised $12.7 million in total, plus $8.7 million in Series A last year, and is backed by investors including RTP Global, Omnivore, Orios Venture Partners, IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group’s Octave Wellbeing Economy Fund, and Japan’s Norinchukin Bank.