Google has agreed to purchase 100,000 tons of carbon removal credits from Indian biochar startup Varaha.
The deal, first reported by TechCrunch, is Google's first in India.
The credits from Varaha’s industrial biochar project in the western Indian state of Gujarat will be delivered in 2030. The deal represents the largest biochar removal transaction to date.
Full financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. DCD has reached out to both companies for comment.
“Biochar is a promising approach to carbon removal because it has the ability to scale worldwide, using existing technology, with positive side effects for soil health,” said Randy Spock, Google’s carbon removal lead, in a statement.
Varaha’s project aims to generate industrial biochar from an invasive plant species, Prosopis Juliflora, using its pyrolysis facility in Gujarat. The plant species have seriously impacted plant diversity in the region, overtaking grasslands used for livestock grazing.
Industrial biochar captures and stores carbon through pyrolysis, a method involving high heat in a low-oxygen setting. This technique produces a stable, porous solid material that effectively traps CO2. When incorporated into soil, biochar enhances soil quality and secures the carbon for hundreds of years, contributing to long-term carbon sequestration.
According to Varaha’s CEO, Madur Jain, Varaha will harvest the plant and make efforts to restore native grasslands in the region.
After the biochar is produced, a third-party auditor will submit their report to Puro.earth, a carbon removal certification company that will generate the carbon credits. According to Varaha, each ton of biochar generates 2.5 carbon credits, with the company aiming to reach one million credits annually by 2030.
In its first project last year, Varaha reported processing 40,000 tons of biomass and producing 10,000 tons of biochar.
“Even if we don’t grow our skills, we have already reached a level with which we are able to successfully process 40,000 tons of biomass per annum, which means that we can easily reach the target of 100,000 tons of biochar by 2030,” Jain said.
Varaha has also built a digital monitoring, reporting, and verification system to support the program. This system integrates remote sensing to monitor biomass availability.
Google has backed several carbon removal firms to mitigate its carbon footprint.
Last month, it entered into a long-term purchase agreement and made a direct equity investment with enhanced rock weathering (ERW) firm Terradot to purchase 200,000 tons of carbon removal credits, delivered in the early 2030s. The deal was the largest ERW carbon removal deal to date.
Before this, in September, it signed a $10 million agreement with direct air capture firm Holocene to remove up to 100,000 tons of DAC credits, planned for delivery in the early 2030s.
