Known as biological charcoal, biochar is generated by heating biomass without oxygen, which creates a stable form of carbon, which is then buried underground to capture CO2 emissions.

ESG Today writes that Switzerland-based The Next 150 is a carbon removal developer and operator, which invests in scalable solution projects in emerging markets that generate positive environmental impacts.

The company's biochar facility, located in Mexico, was opened in 2023 and refines AgriWaste streams from crops like corn or wheat, aiming to supply as many as 23.000 local farmers with biochar, which can be used as soil fertilizers for upcoming cultures, reducing reliance on chemical-based fertilizers. The Swiss company wants to open two other facilities in Latin America by 2025.

Patrick Atanasije Pineda, Managing Partner at The Next 150, said that "securing multi-year commitments like the one with Microsoft allows The Next 150 to mobilize large-scale biochar projects across Latin America, by attracting institutional finance for project-level lending, backed by creditworthy offtakes."

Brian Marrs, Senior Director for Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft, added that "our 6-year purchase agreement and ongoing collaboration with The Next 150 is a step forward towards our ambition to realize our carbon negative by 2030 goal via a diversified portfolio of carbon removal."