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Google has agreed to buy 100,000 tons of carbon credits from Indian startup Varaha, the first such deal with a carbon project in India and the largest deal involving biomass-produced biochar (also called horticultural charcoal or “black gold” for soils).
The two firms said on Thursday that contractual credits will be provided to Google through 2030 from the Varaha industrial biocoal project in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. So far, the New Delhi-based startup is the only Indian company listed on the carbon emission standard and registry. Cigar. Earth.
Biochar is produced in two ways: artisanal and industrial. The artisanal method is community driven, where farmers burn crop residues in conical flasks without the use of machinery. In contrast, industrial biochar is made using large reactors that process 50-60 tons of biomass per day.
Varaha’s project will produce industrial biochar from invasive plant species, Prosopis JulifloraUsing pyrolysis plant in Gujarat. Invasive species affect plant biodiversity and have overtaken grasslands used for livestock. Madhur Jain, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said in an interview that Varaha will harvest the plant and make efforts to restore native grasslands in the region. After the biocar is produced, a third-party auditor will submit its report to Puro.Earth to generate credit.
Although biochar is seen as a long-term carbon sequestration solution, its durability can vary between 1,000 and 2,500 years, depending on production and environmental factors.
For context: Carbon credits relate to how long carbon can be removed from the atmosphere by offsetting emissions with sustainable activities. Greenhouse gases have extremely long-term effects on the atmosphere over hundreds or thousands of years, so any effective carbon credit program must promise to remove carbon over an equally long period of time. “Persistence” here refers to how long carbon is stored in the soil before returning to the atmosphere.
Jain told TechCrunch that Varaha tried using different feedstocks and different parameters in its reactors to find the best combination to achieve about 1,600 years of durability.
The startup has also built a digital monitoring, reporting and verification system that integrates remote sensing to track biomass availability. It even has a mobile app that captures geotagged, time-stamped images to geo-document activities including biomass digging and field application of biochar.
Varaha said it processed at least 40,000 tonnes of biomass and produced 10,000 tonnes of biochar last year with its first project.
“Although we have not developed our capabilities, we have already reached the level where we can successfully process 40,000 tons of biomass per year, which means that we can easily reach the target of 100,000 tons of biochar by 2030.” Jain said.
He added that each ton of biocarbon generates 2.5 carbon credits, and the startup aims to reach 1 million credits annually by 2030.
Carbon credits have gained importance as companies generate greenhouse gas emissions, and each credit is equivalent to a reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide. By purchasing carbon credits, companies can support sustainable projects to offset their emissions.
Google set a new record with this deal, as the last major biocarbon decarbonization operation was conducted by Senken and Exomad Green. It is 81.6 thousand tons Biochar carbon credit between 2025 and 2028. Still, Google’s deal with Varaha is small compared to the tech giant’s carbon emissions.
In 2023, the search giant had total greenhouse gas emissions 14.3 million tons of CO₂ equivalent (gases)13% more than a year ago. The continued growth of AI development is predicted to worsen these emissions figures over time, although Google says it aims to achieve this. net zero emissions across all operations and value chains by 2030.
“Bioochar is a promising approach to carbon sequestration because it has the potential to scale worldwide using existing technology with positive side effects for soil health,” said Randy Spock, head of carbon sequestration at Google.
Varaha currently operates 14 technology-based carbon projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Kenya. The startup also said it has transitioned more than 100,000 smallholder farmers to sustainable practices and helped offset more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Including, it attracted a total of 12.7 million dollars 8.7 million dollars in a Series A round last year and is backed by funds including RTP Global, Omnivore, Orios Venture Partners, IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group’s Octave Wellbeing Economy Fund and Japan’s Norinchukin Bank.
