There’s a number the CDR market has been building toward for years. This week, it arrived.
Altitude Carbon has become the world’s first commercial CDR buyer to cross 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide removal financed. The deal that pushed them over the line: a partnership with Empacar S.A. of Bolivia for over 305,000 tonnes of biochar carbon removal credits (CORCs) — on top of the 360,000+ tonnes Altitude had already financed in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
Altitude has already signalled it will continue growing beyond 1.5 million tonnes.
Why This Milestone Is Different From Others
CDR milestones usually get announced in tonnes contracted or purchased — numbers that exist on paper long before any CO₂ moves. This one is about tonnes financed: actual capital committed, supply chains activated, facilities in development or operation.
1 million tonnes financed means 1 million tonnes that, absent Altitude’s involvement, would not exist as verified carbon removal. That’s a meaningful distinction.
For context: the entire global CDR market (excluding forestry) removed roughly 700,000 tonnes in 2023. Altitude has financed more than an entire year’s global output — through purchasing commitments that drive real supply.
The Bolivia Deal
Altitude’s partnership with Empacar is the largest piece of this milestone.
Empacar S.A. is not a climate startup. It’s one of Bolivia’s major industrial conglomerates — with decades of operation across industry, finance, retail, and logistics. The company is now entering the CDR market through Carbon X, a new business unit dedicated to climate and carbon market activity.
The Bolivian biochar facility is supported by global biochar consultancy Bioflux, with credits to be issued under the Puro.earth methodology. First credit issuance expected in 2027.
This builds directly on an earlier move: Bolivia’s Ascención de Guarayos region already had Empacar developing a biochar facility with approximately 70,000 tonnes of annual CO₂ removal capacity. The Altitude deal provides the commercial anchor — 305,000 tonnes of offtake — that justifies scaling up that capacity.
Southeast Asia, Latin America — and What Comes Next
Before Bolivia, Altitude had already locked in 360,000+ tonnes in Southeast Asia — across Cambodia and the Philippines. The geographic strategy is deliberate: these are regions with abundant agricultural and forestry residues, lower production costs, and significant potential for community co-benefits.
That’s a very different portfolio composition than most CDR buyers, who concentrate heavily on European and North American suppliers.
CDI portfolio company Altitude Carbon has now demonstrated that large-scale CDR can be financed and developed in multiple emerging markets simultaneously. The next question is who builds comparable portfolios at this scale.
The Biochar Supply Chain Is Going Global Faster Than You Think
Biochar gets overlooked in CDR conversations dominated by DAC and BECCS. But the numbers keep compounding.
Altitude alone: 1 million tonnes. Microsoft’s Liferaft deal in the US. Google’s 200k-tonne deal with AMP Robotics. Boeing + CarbonFuture for 40,000 tonnes.
The supply chain is not just scaling — it’s globalizing. Bolivia. Cambodia. Indonesia. Philippines. India. The Philippines became the first Southeast Asian country to issue biochar credits last year. Bolivia is now a CDR supplier.
Most DAC projects haven’t poured concrete yet. Biochar projects are already delivering.
Source: CleanTechnica | Altitude Carbon