Climate technology startup Planboo and the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) have teamed up on a new project in India that will introduce biochar production on cotton farms in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
As explained by the two partners, this project will serve to drive, measure, and monetize environmental improvements via biochar and evaluate its scalability within the sector.
Under the partnership, in February 2026, Planboo and BCI will install three biochar kilns at cotton farms that will provide the biomass feedstock needed for production.
According to the developers, the kilns will have the capacity to process 375 tonnes of agricultural waste, creating 60–70 tonnes of biochar.
Project operations will also include training sessions with local farmers, where participants will get a chance to learn how to produce biochar with the installed kilns and get practical guidelines on how to transition away from conventional residue burning. The project is envisioned to collaborate with a network of 75 farmers.
To track the impact of these operations, Planboo will utilize its digital measurement, reporting, and verification (dMRV) system that will capture data points from the biochar production phase to the calculation of achieved carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
This sophisticated, end-to-end tool accurately calculates the waste biomass input, as well as the biochar volumes produced and CO2 removal accomplished, streamlining the availability of carbon data.
The project is expected to conclude in 2026, and BCI will assess the accumulated knowledge and data, sharing project lessons and outcomes with its members.
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Through this effort, the project developers hope to be able to measure the effect of biochar on key agricultural indicators such as crop yield and water retention, as well as on farming emissions reductions and carbon removal results.
Planboo and BCI hope to be able to use the findings from this project to scale this approach further, demonstrating it can deliver environmental and economic benefits at the field level while helping address Scope 3 emissions.
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