Protecting and commercialising innovation in Europe’s fastest-growing carbon removal sector
Once a niche soil amendment used by agricultural experimenters, biochar is now moving firmly into the climate tech mainstream. Europe has scaled from 20 biochar plants in 2015 to 205 production plants by the end of 2025 — a sector reaching industrial maturity in a decade.
For the Rockstart Biochar Network, that speed of growth raises a question that doesn’t get asked often enough: as biochar producers race to scale, who is protecting the innovation itself? Camilla Kiørboe, Partner at Potter Clarkson and a Certified Danish Patent Agent and European Patent Attorney, unpacks what biochar innovators need to know about IP, certification, feedstock rights and regulatory compliance as the sector moves from niche to infrastructure.
What Is Biochar, and Why Does It Matter?
Biochar is a carbon-rich, highly stable form of charcoal, created by heating biomass — wood chips, agricultural residues, manure — in a low-oxygen environment through a process called pyrolysis. The process prevents full combustion and locks carbon into a solid form that can persist in soil for centuries.
Its origins lie in ancient soil-enhancement techniques, but modern climate science has reframed biochar as a durable carbon removal technology with real agronomic upside. Applied to soil, biochar stores carbon, improves soil structure, increases water retention, and reduces nutrient leaching — of particular value in regenerative agriculture.
The numbers explain the momentum. Each tonne of biochar applied to soil can lock away the equivalent of three tonnes of CO₂, making it one of the most climate-efficient negative-emissions solutions available today. The European sector is projected to remove 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2030, with volumes expected to grow further by 2040. That growth is opening commercial opportunities well beyond production itself: carbon credit sales, biochar-enhanced fertilisers and soil products, project development and monitoring, and the data, certification and traceability tools a credible carbon removal ecosystem depends on.
Why the Sector Is Growing So Fast
Three forces are driving biochar’s rise.
Regulatory tailwinds
Europe’s policy landscape has shifted decisively toward durable carbon removal. The EU’s Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) is creating a harmonised, long-term standard for verified removals, and the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy and proposed 2040 climate targets are folding biochar into national and EU-level climate planning — moving it from voluntary carbon markets into formal climate mitigation infrastructure.
Market demand
Biochar has become one of the most mature and scalable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methodologies, with market acceptance outpacing many other technologies. 43% of all market-verified durable removals to date come via Puro.earth biochar CORCs, with issuance growing 166% between 2023 and 2024. For corporates with net-zero commitments, that track record makes biochar look proven, available now, cost-effective relative to engineered removals, and durable — carbon stored for centuries, not decades.
Strong public and institutional support
Countries like Denmark are becoming major biochar testbeds. Denmark issued its first certified biochar sale in 2023, and is backing the industry with a DKK 10 billion support package and the world’s first agricultural carbon tax — helping reignite momentum after earlier permitting hurdles. The Rockstart Biochar Network, launched in 2025, is one expression of that momentum: bringing together startups, corporates, policymakers and researchers to strengthen collaboration and accelerate commercial innovation across the value chain.
The IP and Legal Considerations Biochar Innovators Need to Address
As biochar moves from niche to infrastructure, the legal and IP landscape around it is maturing quickly. Companies entering or scaling in the sector should pay close attention to six areas.
1. Protecting the technology
Pyrolysis processes and proprietary methods are increasingly eligible for patent protection — across chemical and materials science advances (activated or functionalised biochars, nutrient-loaded formulations, biochar-based composites), mechanical and process engineering improvements (modular reactor layouts, automated feedstock handling, heat recovery optimisation), and the data and software systems — MRV platforms, digital twins, AI-supported process control — increasingly central to certification and operational efficiency. Given the pace of innovation and rising investment, patents are becoming strategic assets for differentiation and defensibility, not just legal housekeeping.
2. Downstream IP and revenue diversification
Carbon credit markets have proven volatile, with prices and demand shifting as certification standards evolve. That’s pushed many biochar producers to look beyond offsets for commercial resilience — and one of the clearest opportunities lies downstream. Biochar’s porosity, stability and carbon content make it a promising additive in construction materials, asphalt, insulation and industrial filtration products. Patents covering the formulation, processing or application of biochar in these downstream products can sit alongside patents on the pyrolysis process itself, giving companies protection across the value chain — and IP that can support licensing deals, joint ventures or direct product sales less exposed to carbon market fluctuations than credit revenue alone.
3. Feedstock contracts and supply chain rights
Biochar production depends on consistent, sustainable biomass, which makes feedstock rights a commercial and legal issue in their own right. Companies need long-term sourcing agreements, clear sustainability and traceability criteria, contracts that address competing uses (biogas plants, for example), and clarity on carbon accounting allocations. Misaligned or ambiguous feedstock rights can undermine both commercial operations and carbon credit certification.
4. Carbon certification
Biochar-based CO₂ removal can only be monetised if it meets certification standards — currently led by Puro.earth CORCs, with the EU’s CRCF requirements emerging alongside them. That means transparent MRV (measurement, reporting, verification), robust data security and audit trails, accurate lifecycle carbon accounting, and ongoing alignment with EU requirements as they evolve. Failure in any of these areas can invalidate credits — an increasingly material commercial risk, not a technicality.
5. Local regulations and environmental compliance
As seen in Denmark, permitting delays and public opposition can slow biochar projects considerably. Successful innovators need a working understanding of air quality standards, waste-to-energy rules, planning and building permits, and environmental impact assessment requirements. In biochar, regulatory compliance is a genuine competitive differentiator, not just a box to tick.
6. Branding, data and trade secrets
As biochar producers differentiate on feedstock sourcing, process conditions, performance characteristics and additives or co-products, trade secrets and brand protection have become essential parts of an IP strategy — particularly where patenting isn’t the optimal route.
Looking Ahead
Biochar is no longer an experimental climate tool. It’s fast becoming a cornerstone of Europe’s carbon removal strategy, backed by regulation, accelerating corporate demand, and a rapidly expanding ecosystem of innovators. As commercialisation accelerates, the winners will be the companies that combine strong technology with a clear grasp of IP, certification, feedstock and regulatory requirements — treating legal strategy as part of the innovation, not an afterthought to it.
About Camilla Kiørboe
Camilla Kiørboe is a Partner at Potter Clarkson, and a Certified Danish Patent Agent and European Patent Attorney. She works across biotechnology, chemistry, mechanical engineering, software and data, trade marks and regulatory law to help climate innovators — including biochar companies — protect and commercialise their technology.
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.
Want to be part of the conversation shaping Denmark’s biochar ecosystem? Join the Biochar Network.
