Isometric Expands Carbon Removal Certification to China with First Three Projects

Isometric has entered China's carbon removal market by signing agreements with three domestic project developers, extending its certification activities into a country expected to require substantial volumes of carbon dioxide removal as it works towards carbon neutrality.

The London-based carbon removal standards and certification company will work with direct air capture developer DeCarbon Tech and biochar developers Tongao Greenchar and Vastwing Energy. The projects will seek certification under Isometric's scientific protocols through Certify, the company's AI-supported certification platform.

The agreements represent Isometric's first project developers in China and could provide Chinese carbon removal suppliers with a route to international voluntary carbon markets, where corporate buyers are increasingly examining issues such as additionality, permanence, lifecycle emissions, and measurement, reporting and verification.

China Presents a Potentially Large Carbon Removal Market

China has committed to achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. Isometric estimates that reaching that objective could ultimately require around three billion tonnes of carbon dioxide removal annually to compensate for residual emissions that remain after deep reductions across industry, energy, transport and other sectors.

Carbon removal is not a substitute for reducing emissions, but technologies capable of removing and durably storing atmospheric CO2 are expected to play a role in addressing emissions that are technically or economically difficult to eliminate.

China has several characteristics that could support large-scale deployment. Its substantial manufacturing capacity could contribute to lower equipment and infrastructure costs for engineered removal technologies, while continued renewable electricity development could support energy-intensive processes such as direct air capture.

Biochar also represents a significant opportunity because of China's large agricultural sector and availability of biomass residues.

Research referenced by Isometric estimates China's technical biochar sequestration potential at approximately 128 million tonnes of carbon annually. Converted to carbon dioxide equivalent, that corresponds to about 470 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The figure represents a theoretical maximum based on complete utilization of available crop residues, rather than a forecast of near-term deployment.

Direct Air Capture Project Targets Permanent Mineral Storage

DeCarbon Tech was the first Chinese developer to sign with Isometric.

The company operates direct air capture technology that removes carbon dioxide directly from ambient air. Captured CO2 intended for permanent removal is stored through mineralization, a process that converts carbon dioxide into stable mineral forms capable of providing long-duration storage. DeCarbon Tech also supplies captured CO2 for industrial applications.

Certification will be important if the developer intends to generate carbon removal credits for international buyers. Direct air capture projects must account not only for the quantity of CO2 captured, but also for energy consumption, operational emissions, transport and storage to determine the project's net climate benefit.

The Chinese manufacturing and renewable energy sectors could potentially provide advantages as DAC technologies move from demonstration plants towards larger commercial facilities, although costs remain a significant challenge for the technology globally.

Biochar Projects Turn Agricultural Residues into Carbon Storage

The other two developers, Tongao Greenchar and Vastwing Energy, are pursuing biochar-based carbon removal.

Tongao Greenchar was established by Tongao Group and Greenchar Climate Solutions. Its model uses responsibly sourced agricultural and forestry residues to manufacture durable biochar for traceable application to soils and biochar-based fertilizer products. The project's monitoring framework covers activities from biomass sourcing through to long-term carbon storage.

Biochar is produced when biomass is heated under limited oxygen conditions. Part of the carbon absorbed by plants during growth is converted into a relatively stable form instead of rapidly returning to the atmosphere through decomposition or combustion.

Vastwing Energy, meanwhile, is developing a biochar project in Longnan City in China's Gansu Province. The operation plans to convert discarded fruit-tree branches into biochar using gasification technology before applying the resulting material to agricultural soils.

According to the developer, the project could eventually produce around 75,000 tonnes of biochar-based fertilizer annually. Vastwing has also indicated that two additional biochar projects are being prepared for submission to Isometric later in 2026.

Certification Quality Will Determine Access to International Buyers

China's potential carbon removal capacity does not automatically translate into internationally marketable carbon credits.

Project developers must demonstrate that claimed removals are measurable, additional and durable while providing transparent evidence of associated emissions and potential reversal risks. Robust monitoring and independent verification therefore remain central to whether buyers accept credits as part of corporate carbon removal portfolios.

Isometric says its Certify platform combines automated data processing with verification against its scientific protocols, providing a digital infrastructure for reviewing project information and ultimately issuing carbon removal certificates.

The company's broader certification business has been expanding rapidly. Isometric reported in June 2026 that it had been contracted to certify more than 16 million tonnes of carbon removal across more than 200 projects, with customers including Microsoft, JPMorganChase and Boeing.

For international carbon credit buyers, the arrival of Chinese projects could eventually broaden the geographical and technological diversity of available removal supply.

For Chinese developers, internationally recognised certification could provide access to a larger group of corporate purchasers and additional sources of climate finance. However, the commercial significance of the agreements will depend on whether individual projects successfully satisfy certification requirements, demonstrate credible net removals and scale economically.

The development therefore represents an early step rather than evidence of China already delivering carbon removal at the hundreds-of-millions or billions-of-tonnes scale suggested by its technical potential.

What it does demonstrate is that China's emerging direct air capture and biochar industries are beginning to connect with international carbon removal certification infrastructure. If those projects can combine lower deployment costs with rigorous measurement and durable storage, China could become an increasingly important supplier in the developing global market for permanent carbon removal.

Source:

• esgnews.com

• isometric.com