Terraset Commits More Than $2M to Biochar, Methane Credits

By Grace Kim

Terraset is committing more than $2 million to three projects that create early demand for wastewater biochar, methane-abatement credits and carbon credits from a Ukrainian biochar operation. The Colorado-based nonprofit will use advance purchases and other financing arrangements to draw larger investments into the underlying companies and move them toward commercial deployment.

At Airbuild’s pilot facility in Green River, Utah, algae-based biochar technology treats wastewater and recovers nitrogen and phosphorus. Terraset’s investment aims to convert interest from five municipalities, representing $37.5 million, into signed contracts. The technology could reduce water pollution and farmers’ reliance on synthetic fertilizers, adding a wastewater and nutrient benefit to its carbon value.

The latest round combines support for existing portfolio companies with new investments in Airbuild, Frost Methane and Tellus Conservation. Terraset said it prioritized projects “able to unlock additional capital while delivering benefits beyond carbon removal or emissions abatement.” That filter connects each investment to an identifiable commercial or environmental step rather than emissions reduction alone.

Frost Methane captures methane from sources including livestock farms, abandoned coal mines and landfills, then flares the captured gas. Terraset purchased methane-abatement credits from the company, providing evidence of credit sales as Frost competes in the Grow-NY startup competition, whose top prize is $1 million. At livestock farms, Frost’s systems can improve water quality and reduce odors.

London-based Tellus Conservation produces biochar in Ukraine. Profits from its planned two-kiln commercial operation in Rivne Oblast will support the Nature Fund of Ukraine, which provides long-term financing for 11 national parks.

Tellus is working with a financier on the project, which requires a buyer commitment for about 4,000 carbon credits annually once a feasibility study is completed. Terraset’s purchase is intended to help meet that requirement.

The structure gives each company a different route to scale. Airbuild needs to turn expressed municipal interest into enforceable wastewater contracts, while Frost gains a completed credit sale and Tellus works toward an annual carbon-credit buyer. The announcement identifies Airbuild’s Green River site as a pilot facility, while Tellus’s two kilns remain planned.

Terraset cited a broader constraint on climate finance. Climate causes received 2.1% of global philanthropic funding in 2024, a record share that the nonprofit said remains small relative to the scale of the challenge.

Terraset said its funding approach had generated “as much as six dollars in additional direct capital for every dollar deployed.” The organization plans to disclose further investments from the latest round.

What does the funding change for project developers?

The purchases provide early revenue and visible buyer demand, helping developers meet contract and financing conditions. For Airbuild, support targets conversion of $37.5 million in municipal interest into signed contracts; for Tellus, it helps meet the requirement for about 4,000 annual credits after feasibility; and for Frost, it records a credit sale while Grow-NY proceeds.

That support reduces an early funding hurdle rather than the operating risk. Airbuild still needs signed municipal contracts, Tellus must complete feasibility and arrange a financier and buyer, and Frost still faces the competition outcome. The announcement states no production capacity for Airbuild’s pilot or Tellus’s planned kilns.

The next market test is contract execution. Airbuild must convert interest from five municipalities into signed contracts; Tellus must complete feasibility and line up a buyer for about 4,000 credits annually; Frost awaits the Grow-NY result. Until then, the more-than-$2 million commitment remains catalytic capital, not proof of full operating scale.