We are excited to launch our Inside the Biochar Network series where we showcase the Rockstart Biochar Network’s pioneering startups and biochar solutions. We are kicking off the series with a spotlight on Klimate.co, a Rockstart portfolio company driving scalable climate impact through its carbon removal platform. Klimate raised €3.5M in seed round in 2023 to advance carbon removal technologies, led by Eneco Ventures and joined by Helen Ventures, Rockstart, and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO).
Klimate was founded in 2020 with a mission to advance different carbon removal methods and projects, including biochar, by connecting them to companies looking for carbon removal strategies free from greenwashing. Each project is carefully evaluated for climate impact, integrity, co-benefits, and real-world feasibility.
By building a platform that helps companies to achieve their net-zero goals with high-quality carbon removal strategies, Klimate is contributing to both climate crisis mitigation and agricultural regeneration — delivering measurable impact at scale.
“When you look at biochar, you have to understand what biochar is essentially. It’s solving a number of different problems,” says Simon Bager, co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Klimate.co. Simon comes from a scientific background with a PhD in Geography, focusing on the potential of governance interventions in agro-food supply chains promoting sustainable land use.
Biochar stands out in Klimate’s portfolio for its durability, affordability, and many agricultural benefits. This approach helps companies invest in solutions that are both affordable, effective and genuinely sustainable. Recently, Klimate has joined the Rockstart Biochar Network, committed to accelerating the wider adoption of biochar in agriculture.
Based in Copenhagen, Klimate works with biochar projects across the globe — from Kenya and India to Germany and Denmark — helping to reduce agricultural waste by transforming it into a powerful climate solution.
“In a lot of places in the world, biomass is a waste resource that gets disposed of in ways that have environmentally degrading properties,” Simon points out. “Why are companies and governments not providing millions of dollars to support this technology? We could produce more energy, we could store carbon, we could support agricultural systems becoming more green. It’s a fantastic win-win situation.”
An important advantage of biochar is that it reduces the rate at which biomass decomposes, therefore it becomes a carbon sink by storing carbon in a stable form for potentially lasting thousands of years, rather than emitting it to the atmosphere. Biochar also improves water retention in both wet and dry climates, acting “like a sponge to retain water,” Simon continues.
Biochar has many benefits on agriculture as well, such increasing crop production and its positive effects around fertilization and nutrient retention. It also offers a sustainable solution to the environmental problem of agricultural waste, replacing harmful burning practices that degrade air quality and soil fertility.
What projects does Klimate work with?
Klimate has 17 biochar projects across the globe, such as larger-scale, industrial projects in Kenya and northern Germany. In these high-tech solutions, biomass production is conducted in one centralized place; later, biochar gets distributed back again to the farmers. In Germany, farmers utilize it for animal husbandry, while in Kenya it is used as a fertilizer by mixing biomass with manure and compost. The combustion in this case is controlled, therefore, there is a relatively high degree of certainty around the actual production processes.
Decentralized, low-tech biochar projects are usually located in small villages, such as Klimate’s Carboneers project in India. There, the actual process for pyrolysing the biomass is less controlled. Typically, the biochar quality is lower in decentralized projects, but they win a lot by having a great amount of social co-benefits, such as supporting smallholder farmers and preventing air pollution by replacing field burning.
Biochar plays a central role in Klimate’s portfolio, with the company allocating the largest share of client funds toward biochar projects across 15 countries, citing its affordability, scalability, and strong carbon removal potential.
What makes a great biochar project?
Klimate evaluates projects based on four key criteria, ensuring both climate impact and long-term viability.
First and foremost, a project must drive a clear positive environmental impact. Whether it’s reducing emissions, sequestering carbon, or mitigating pollution, the initiative has to make a measurable contribution to environmental health.
Equally important are the agricultural co-benefits. Klimate looks for projects that support farming systems — for example, by improving soil quality, increasing yields, or providing sustainable alternatives to harmful practices.
Project integrity is also essential. This means having a model that is not only impactful but scalable. The project can have the perfect idea in theory – but if there is no potential for scalable impact, it is not achievable. The project must demonstrate that it can grow beyond its initial scope while maintaining quality and results.
Finally, successful implementation depends on strong local partnerships and governance. Klimate assesses whether the project has a solid operational foundation — including health and safety standards, valid labor contracts, and thorough risk screenings. These elements ensure the project is both ethical and sustainable in the long run.
An outlook on the biochar market
The biochar market holds significant potential, offering proven benefits for agriculture and climate change mitigation. However, despite its promise, scaling biochar adoption remains a challenge.
“Part of this could be a market failure to account for something that is not necessarily monetized yet,” Simon points out. “Carbon sequestration has monetary value even though it’s not accounted for in a conventional economic system.”
Denmark is currently emerging as a hub for biochar innovation, thanks to its strong agricultural system, a growing number of pyrolysis technology providers, and the supportive legal framework. While the country’s small size limits its domestic capacity, it holds significant potential in exporting biochar technology and facilitating global knowledge transfer. And so, companies like Klimate could potentially position Denmark – and the broader Nordic region – as leaders in the carbon removal space.
Biochar’s ability to sequester carbon and improve agricultural systems could be a “Goldilocks moment”, as Simon emphasizes, but without proper economic incentives such as carbon finance or regulations against harmful practices, the method struggles to gain recognition.
While carbon credits can help subsidize costs, challenges remain. Still, Simon is optimistic about the future of the industry.
“Biochar is one of the technologies that has scaled the fastest and has delivered the most [CO2 removals] compared to other carbon sequestration solutions,” he says. With billions of tons of biomass available globally every year combined with strong innovation at home, “Denmark could establish the technology, which later could be expanded to other countries where it’s needed.”
Klimate.co is one of the first members of the Rockstart Biochar Network, contributing to the panel discussion about the future of biochar at our Biochar Network Kick-off Event.
The Rockstart Biochar Network was created with the support of the Danish government’s GUDP – Green Development and Demonstration Program. The initiative aims to advance regenerative agriculture and promote the use of biochar within all stakeholders in the ecosystem. Biochar, produced through pyrolysis, can persist in soils for centuries, enhancing fertility and capturing carbon dioxide. The Network supports Denmark’s climate change mitigation strategies, including improving the fertility of coarse sandy soils and preparing for the government’s 2027 biochar objectives, which encompass CO₂ taxation policies and the integration of climate technologies. Participation in the Biochar Network is free and open to all stakeholders.
Join the Biochar Network if you would like to learn more about Denmark’s biochar ecosystem and join the conversation with Simon.
