Microsoft to buy up to 10,000 tonnes annual biochar removal credits

Carbon Streaming will supply Microsoft up to 10,000 metric tonnes annually of carbon removal credits from the Waverly Biochar project in Virginia. The deal expands corporate demand for durable carbon removal, a market Indian project developers and credit buyers can study as removal standards and pricing mature globally.

Carbon Streaming entered a partnership to supply Microsoft up to 10,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide removal credits annually from the Waverly Biochar project in Waverly, Virginia. Biochar, produced by heating organic material like forest residue and agricultural waste without oxygen, sequesters carbon for centuries while enhancing soil fertility. Developed by Restoration Bioproducts LLC, the project is expected to remove more than 262,000 metric tonnes of CO2 over its 25-year lifespan, with Carbon Streaming receiving royalties from biochar produced and sold.

The deal affects carbon removal developers and corporate buyers building removal portfolios. It aligns with Microsoft's goal to become carbon negative by 2030 and eliminate all historical emissions by 2050. Microsoft has signed large Direct Air Capture agreements with Heirloom, CarbonCapture, Climeworks, and ocean-based removal with Running Tide, plus 2.76 million tonnes from Ørsted's Danish wood chip power station. Microsoft describes biochar as a medium-duration solution bridging shorter-duration afforestation and higher-cost, longer-duration DAC.

Project developers and buyers should note that many capture and storage solutions, including biochar, remain early-stage with limited scalability, and that corporate purchase commitments drive demand and enable scale-up. Carbon Streaming uses streaming transactions to fund developers, letting companies commit to buying credits without upfront capital. Buyers building diversified removal portfolios can monitor how medium-duration biochar credits complement afforestation and DAC across cost and durability, and how royalty-based streaming models finance project construction.

Key figure — Annual supply: up to 10,000 metric tonnes of removal credits to Microsoft