Isometric Launches CBAM Data Prep Service as Default-Value Markups Climb

Exporters shipping into the EU now face a compliance clock that ends September 30, 2027, and Isometric has launched a service built for exactly that deadline. The industrial certification provider announced Ready for CBAM, a data preparation and reporting offering that helps companies prepare emissions data for verification under the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

The economics of the service are straightforward. Under CBAM, EU importers must purchase certificates covering the emissions embedded in imported goods, calculated either from actual emissions data verified by an accredited verifier or from EU-established default values. For most covered goods, the default values carry a markup that rises from 10 percent in 2026 to 30 percent by 2028. That markup is the cost of not having verified data, and it escalates.

The first CBAM declarations, covering 2026 imports, are due by September 30, 2027. Errors in submissions may require additional rounds of review, Isometric noted. The mechanism entered into force at the start of 2026, three years after its adoption in 2023.

Why the mechanism exists

CBAM targets what the EU calls carbon leakage: companies moving production of emissions-intensive goods to countries with less stringent climate policies. The mechanism aims to equalize the price of carbon paid for EU products operating under the EU Emissions Trading System with the price paid for goods produced elsewhere. Importers into the EU purchase CBAM certificates to make up the difference.

What the service actually does

Isometric's offering pairs carbon accounting experts with an AI-powered platform that checks data as exporters upload it and flags issues. The experts prepare the monitoring plan and emissions report for each plant, then review the full submission against EU rules. Support continues through verification itself, with experts working alongside exporters to resolve issues raised by the verifier.

The service covers all six sectors currently under CBAM: cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers, hydrogen, and electricity.

Lukas May, Chief Commercial Officer at Isometric, framed the problem bluntly. He said: "Exporters are going into their first CBAM verification with very little guidance on what a good submission looks like, and no way of knowing how long the process will take. The best way of avoiding repeating it is to get the monitoring plan and emissions report right before they reach the verifier."

The funding behind the expansion

The launch follows Isometric's Series A round, in which the company raised $50 million. The financing supports a strategy of extending its AI-powered certification platform beyond its initial focus on carbon markets into the broader industrial economy, including industrial emissions, energy, fuels, and materials.

For exporters in the six covered sectors, the arithmetic is now fixed: verified data costs time and expert effort now, while default values cost a rising premium — 10 percent this year, 30 percent by 2028. Isometric is betting that enough exporters will choose the first option.

The milestone to watch is September 30, 2027, when the first declarations land and the quality of the data behind them becomes a matter of record.