How Novocarbo drove demand for credits from a biochar project with a rating
What they said
Closed 2x more long-term contracts than the previous two years
Generated 40% more inbound interest in the project compared to the prior two years
Increased comparability and transparency across projects, making it easy for buyers to explore and compare projects according to the same metric
Cimberley Groß, Carbon Removal Manager at NovocarboThis rating not only instilled substantial confidence in the quality of our carbon removal project but also started to unlock exciting avenues for long-term contractual opportunities with high-profile buyers.
Challenge
The engineered carbon removal market is growing rapidly but is still in the early stages of scaling up. A significant challenge in this sector is the cost of engineered carbon removal credits. They are typically many times more expensive than others available on the market, such as those from avoidance or nature-based projects. Among the players in this market is Novocarbo, a German project developer of biochar credits and carbon removal parks.
With its Carbon Removal Site Rhine, it is one of the few suppliers to have an operational, commercial-scale engineered carbon removal project, and to have delivered a significant volume of their credits sold to date. However, like most engineered carbon removal suppliers, they’re faced with a limited pool of potential customers due the high cost of engineered carbon removal credits.
Rating
In December 2023, BeZero Carbon assigned credits issued by Novocarbo’s Carbon Removal Site Rhine an A rating, meaning a high likelihood of achieving 1 tonne of CO₂e removed. BeZero’s rating has provided the market with an independent view that this project’s carbon removal is robust and of high quality. Furthermore, because all of BeZero’s headline ratings for issued credits are publicly available, the rating exposed the project to a much wider audience than before.
Impact
Since the rating was assigned, Novocarbo have reported that their business has realised 40% more inbound interest in the project compared to the prior two years, and closed 2x more long-term contracts than the previous two years. They also noted an increase in more sophisticated conversations with buyers on the unique benefits and attributes of their carbon removal project. They received multiple feedback from buyers that the rating has helped them to make informed decisions when comparing projects.
As well as higher demand for credits from this project, the rating has generated higher customer confidence in the long-term impact of their other projects. Buyers have used the rating to benchmark the project against others, comparing it favourably with its competitors, in particular on a major US carbon credit marketplace.
Carbon explored
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