Supercritical Launches Global Biochar Feedstock Data Call For Tech Giant's Gigatonne Push

A large technology company has commissioned an industry-wide data call through Supercritical, asking biochar developers, feedstock owners, and operators to share on-the-ground data on biomass supply. The effort is meant to clarify what biochar, made by heating waste biomass in a low-oxygen process called pyrolysis, needs to scale into a gigatonne-level carbon removal pathway over a 5- to 25-year timeframe.

The call spans four biomass feedstock categories: large-scale forestry residues, nut and fruit shells, rice husk and straw, and sewage sludge. Supercritical is canvassing the supply side of the market to gauge whether enough biomass exists, at a workable cost, in the right locations to support biochar's expansion, a pathway the company's own market data has previously identified as the largest source of delivered durable carbon removal to date.

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Filling In What The Research Has Missed

"The biochar market doesn't have a science problem. It has a supply problem," said Michelle You, CEO of Supercritical. She said published research tends to highlight the projects that succeeded, without capturing where feedstock actually sits at volume, what it costs to secure, or why projects stall before reaching scale, information she said buyers need before committing capital. Closing that gap is the stated purpose of the current data call.

The effort follows a separate report Supercritical released in February, which found that biochar suppliers came in well short of 2025 delivery targets, off by 54% from initial forecasts. The company has linked that shortfall to financing delays and slower-than-expected scale-up rather than gaps in the underlying carbon science. "Carbon removal is not software. We're talking about physical infrastructure," Michelle You, CEO and Co-Founder of Supercritical, said at the time.

Who Can Take Part, And By When

Eligible respondents include project developers, independent experts, and feedstock owners or processors, ranging from rice mills and sawmills to nut processors and wastewater treatment operators. Supercritical says responses will be pooled anonymously or in aggregate, with select participants invited for follow-up interviews. The findings are set to feed a broader research effort aimed at directing capital, offtake support, research funding, and policy attention toward unlocking new feedstock supply. Interested parties have until August 7, 2026 to submit responses through this online form.

About Supercritical

Founded in 2021 by CEO Michelle You and CTO Aaron Randall, Supercritical helps enterprise buyers procure high-quality carbon removal with confidence. The company tracks 80% of global durable carbon dioxide removal supply and applies its own vetting protocol to the biochar producers on its platform. Corporate buyers on Supercritical's platform include The Economist Group, Virgin Atlantic, and Rothschild & Co.