In January 2023, after 1.5 years of research and consultancy work, Mart and Berend founded Carboneers with a clear vision: deploy carbon removal at scale not in the Netherlands, a country too small and with farmers too well-off to make much difference, but in partnership with agricultural communities in the Global South where the impact potential is greatest.

The rationale is straightforward. Biochar has more impact on degraded, nutrient-poor soils. Farmers in these regions can see significant income increases from improved yields. And critically, in the regions where Carboneers operates, agricultural waste has no end use, unlike in the Netherlands where it's often processed or composted. Instead, it's burned in fields through stubble burning, releasing all the CO2 captured during photosynthesis back into the atmosphere. Converting this waste to biochar turns what would be emissions into permanent carbon removal.

Since then, Carboneers has grown steadily. The team has expanded from two founders to ten members across India, the Netherlands, and Ghana. Operations in both India and Ghana have scaled significantly, establishing projects across two continents.

The target is clear: reach 1 million tonnes of annual carbon sequestration by 2028. Definitely ambitious, but absolutely necessary. The world needs to reduce its emissions while also dealing with the excess CO2 that's been accumulating in the atmosphere for decades. This drives Carboneers' work developing biochar solutions that combat climate change, build soil health, and create economic opportunities for farming communities in least developed countries.