August 2025 Newsletter

News from the Global Biochar Industry

The Wales Biochar Study Tour is currently underway! Attendees are visiting production sites and biochar companies across the countryside.

Letter from the Team

It feels good to be back with you after welcoming a new little one into my family. While I was on maternity leave, it appears the IBI community has been as active and inspiring as ever! 

We’ve just released IBI’s 2025 Impact Report. Have you read it yet? We wrote about what we did, how we did it, and what’s to come. In this year’s edition, I designed a graphic that explains how biochar connects with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. I knew biochar was awesome already, but after this exercise, I’m even more floored about everything that biochar can do. 

As this newsletter lands in your inbox, our Wales Biochar Study Tour is underway! Attendees are exploring hands-on learning of biochar applications with site visits to companies like Black Bull Biochar and Mersey Biochar, and a mini UK Biochar Festival featuring kiln demos, farm walks, a biochar-filtered runoff swimming pool, and more. (I’m jealous…aren’t you?) 

This type of experience is just one of the unique programs we have planned for this year, because in 2026, IBI is celebrating its 20th anniversary! Can you believe it — 20 years of biochar innovation and community building? We’re officially kicking off IBI on Tour, a collection of events, stories, and more to celebrate two decades of progress and looking ahead to what’s next. Our next “on tour” appearances are bringing more biochar education your way; the India Biochar Academy and the Washington State Study Tour.

Unlocking Biochar for Climate-Smart Agriculture

This month, we hosted a webinar to present the findings from the Unlocking the Future of Climate-Smart Agriculture report with its author, Tom Mills (Climate Fellow at Stripe). The session spotlighted the strategic role of Biochar Carbon Removal in addressing climate, agronomic, and commercial challenges across global agricultural value chains, with a focus on the Global South. 

Upcoming "IBI On Tour" Events 

Join the year-long celebration of our 20th anniversary!

October 2–10, 2025 | India Biochar Academy

Explore powerful real-world biochar applications, like organic farming, water harvesting, and solar energy, as you stay at a global center for regenerative practices and wellness. Secure your spot. ⏰ Sales end September 12. 

October 28–30, 2025 | Washington State Study Tour 

Experience the heart of innovation in Washington State, diving into how biochar is being integrated into real-world agriculture, energy systems, and more — from modular gasification units to vineyard and orchard site trials. Join the Tour!

See you in Minneapolis? ✈️

Partner and Member Updates

NEWS: The latest study from IBI Board member Dr. Johannes Lehmann finds that biochar made from human waste could solve global fertilizer supply challenges. 

NEWS: USBI's Myles Gray talks with Biomass Magazine podcast about biochar's value as a commodity. 

OPPORTUNITY: 📢 Have your say in shaping biochar standards! The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), in collaboration with the US Biochar Initiative, has released a proposed draft of a new American National Standard: ASABE/USBI S668 MONYEAR-202x, Methods for Measurement and Testing of Biochar. Request a copy and send your comments by emailing wall@asabe.org by September 22.

EVENT: Heading to Climate Week NYC? Join Carbon Business Council on Monday, September 22 for a carbon removal community reception to kick off the week. 

NEWS: IBI Member Husk receives support from the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development to scale its operations in both Vietnam and Cambodia. 

NEWS: German Biochar eV has joined the KohleBunt partnership network to promote the use of biochar as a carbon sink in gardening. 

OPPORTUNITY: The Carbon to Value Initiative has opened applications for its Carbontech Accelerator program — apply by August 29.

NEWS: IBI member Qualterra talks about its vertically integrated approach to agriculture with Biochar Today. (Behind a member paywall.) 

RESOURCE: Heading to COP30 or communicating about CDR ahead of time? Use the new Think Negative website as a tool in your messages.

We're heading to Colombia to present at the 1st Latin American Biochar Congress! Will you be there, too? Reach out to info@biochar-international.org. Learn more. 

Partner Newsletters to Read

featuring opportunities, stories, and more

Sign up for Australia and New Zealand Biochar Industry Group’s (ANZBIG)  newsletter

Subscribe to the Carbon Removal India Alliance (CRIA) newsletter

Subscribe to US Biochar Initiative's monthly newsletter

Subscribe to the German Biochar Association's monthly newsletter

Sign up for KlimateNet's monthly newsletter for professionals working on projects that reduce or remove emissions of greenhouse gases.

Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH news and stories

Sign up for Carbonfuture’s Perspective newsletter

Upcoming Biochar Events

AUGUST 

🌟 20–22 August | IBI Study Tour: Wales

Wales, UK

SEPTEMBER

11–12 September | LATAM Congress on Biochar

Colombia

15–18 September | North American Biochar Conference

Minnesota, USA

21–28 September | Climate Week NYC

New York, USA

22–26 September | ICOBTE & ICHMET 2025

Korea

Have an event or project you’d like to collaborate on with IBI? Tell us here. 

Welcome New & Renewing Members

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

Uzo-wanne farms Nig Ltd

BUSINESS MEMBERS

Become an IBI member today!

Gain access to exclusive resources, expert insights, and a community of like-minded professionals who are shaping the future of biochar industry.

Biochar in the News

What's hotter than your pyrolysis unit? This biochar and carbon removal news!

🏗️ Isometric has certified its module on biochar storage in the built environment.

AFRICA 

🍫 Planboo and Carboneers have joined forces on a CDR project that will process cacao waste biomass into biochar in Ghana, signing with Milkywire.

💚 A refugee and his family are finding opportunity through biochar. 

📝 Sayari Earth has entered a research partnership with Stellenbosch University’s School for Climate Studies to investigate how mobile biochar production can have intersectional impacts for South Africa.

ASIA

✨ Biochar can pave the way to a climate renaissance in India.  

⚡ The Indonesian International Biochar Association was recently established, and Hashim Djojohadikusumo aims to establish the country as a global leader in sustainable farming practices through biochar.

EUROPE

📊 The German Association for Negative emissions and Boston Consulting Group released a report on what Germany needs to do to scale carbon removal. 

🐔 Marks & Spencer has partnered with Black Bull Biochar to purchase Biochar Carbon Removal credits as part of a broader effort to integrate sustainable practices into its poultry supply chain. 

🆕 Puro.earth published a new report outlining the growth of biochar into the leading CDR method currently available on the market. 

NORTH AMERICA

🌟 Biomass Magazine explores biochar's potential through pelletizing.

💰 Ontario is investing $9 million CAD in forestry projects, including biochar!   

🚧 Colorado, U.S., is becoming home to the first county-owned built & operated biochar facility.  

🏛️ U.S. Senators have reintroduced a bill to research the effectiveness of biochar.  

🛣️ Verde Resources' biochar-based asphalt has earned early validation from the National Center for Asphalt Technology.  

🌱 University of Missouri research are demonstrating how biochar can support the challenges of cotton growers. 

🔍 Growers across Nova Scotia are exploring the impact of biochar.  

💸 Nebraska launches a $4.4 million USD grant to fund biochar facilities.

OCEANIA

🔋 Researchers at Deakin University, Barwon Water and RMIT are exploring the “many superpowers of biochar”, including in next-generation batteries.

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