Current status — 16 July 2026. VM0044 v1.2 remains the active methodology and is eligible for the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles label. Verra opened public consultation on major revision M0226 on 15 July 2026. Proposed changes cover existing facilities, high-technology evidence, feedstocks, H:Corg and moisture monitoring, transport emissions, and safe storage and transport. The consultation closes on 17 August 2026; until a replacement is published, projects should continue to use v1.2.
VM0044 is Verra's methodology for turning carbon stored in biochar into verified carbon removal credits. If a project converts eligible waste biomass into biochar and puts that biochar into an approved soil or durable non-soil application, VM0044 determines how much carbon can be claimed and what evidence must support it.
A project can look viable on paper and still credit very little. Common causes include an ineligible feedstock, missing production-temperature records, an unsupported end use, uncounted transport, or conservative low-technology defaults. This guide explains the active VM0044 v1.2 methodology and labels its worked examples as illustrative rather than project forecasts.
What is VM0044?
VM0044 is Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) methodology for crediting carbon storage through biochar. Version 1.2 covers biochar produced from eligible waste biomass by pyrolysis, gasification, or a biomass boiler, then used in an eligible soil or non-soil application. Production alone is not enough: biochar that does not reach an approved application generates no credits.
Biochar is a stabilized carbon-rich material made by heating biomass under oxygen-limited conditions. Unlike fuel charcoal, eligible biochar must remain in a monitored carbon sink rather than be burned. VM0044 applies a permanence adjustment representing the fraction of organic carbon expected to remain after 100 years.
Every project has three stages inside its boundary:
| Stage | What the project must prove |
|---|---|
| 1. Source | The feedstock is eligible, domestically sourced waste biomass |
| 2. Produce | An eligible thermochemical process converts it into traceable biochar |
| 3. Apply | The biochar reaches a monitored soil or durable non-soil carbon sink within one year |
VM0044 at a glance
| Element | What VM0044 v1.2 requires |
|---|---|
| Eligible processes | Pyrolysis, gasification, or biomass boiler; torrefaction and hydrothermal carbonization are excluded |
| Feedstock | Purely biogenic waste biomass, domestically sourced and not purpose-grown |
| End uses | Eligible soils outside wetlands, plus durable non-soil applications such as concrete and asphalt |
| Carbon-to-CO2e factor | 44/12 = 3.667 |
| Soil permanence defaults | 0.89 above 600 degrees C; 0.80 at 450–600; 0.65 at 350–450; 0.56 for low-tech production with unknown temperature |
| Accounting horizon | 100 years |
| Reversal treatment | Reversal risk is treated as negligible after verified eligible application; no AFOLU-style buffer deduction |
| Utilization deadline | Biochar must be applied within 12 months of production |
Eligible feedstocks
VM0044 credits waste biomass only. Four core conditions must all be met: the feedstock is purely biogenic waste rather than purpose-grown biomass; it would have decayed or been burned without energy recovery in the baseline; it is domestically sourced, because cross-border imports are prohibited; and it meets the methodology's sustainability criteria. If one condition fails, the feedstock is ineligible.
Within those conditions, VM0044 recognizes several sourcing categories, each with specific safeguards:
| Category | Examples | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural waste | Straw, husks, stalks, prunings, pomace | Removal is capped at 50% of residues without supporting documentation and must not reduce soil carbon |
| Food-processing residues | Coffee, cocoa and tea residues; expired food | Must come from genuine food processing and not from an intentionally increased residue rate |
| Forestry and wood processing | Sawdust, off-cuts, thinnings, wastepaper | Forest wood requires proof of sustainable, deforestation-free sourcing, such as FSC or PEFC evidence |
| Recycling economy | Urban green cuttings, biosolids, paper sludge | Only the biogenic fraction qualifies; applicable contaminant limits must be met |
| Aquaculture plants | Seaweed, algae waste, water hyacinth | Plantae kingdom only; invasive species must not be introduced to create feedstock |
| Animal manure | Swine, cattle and poultry waste | Must be a by-product of legitimate husbandry, not extra livestock raised to generate manure |
| High-carbon fly ash | By-product of biomass cogeneration | Capped at 5% of annual biomass throughput |
Transport is an important boundary condition. VM0044 tests the to-and-from round-trip distance separately for waste biomass moving to the production facility and biochar moving to its final application. A round trip of less than 200 km is treated as zero transport leakage. Above the threshold, transport emissions must be calculated with CDM TOOL12, and the methodology's applicability condition restricts the longer movement to road transport. A 200 km radius is therefore not the same as a 200 km round trip.
Mineral additives such as agricultural lime are permitted, but fresh laboratory testing is required if they exceed 10% of the final product mass. Recognized schemes such as RSB or ISCC may support compliance with relevant sustainability criteria.
Eligible end uses: soil and non-soil
Soil applications are permitted on cropland, grassland, vegetated urban soils and forest, but not wetlands. Surface-applied biochar must first be mixed with a substrate such as compost, manure or digestate to reduce erosion and fire risk. Subsurface application by tillage or injection may use biochar alone. Soil-applied biochar must meet applicable contaminant limits and have a hydrogen-to-organic-carbon (H:Corg) molar ratio at or below 0.7, tested for every batch.
Non-soil applications include cement and concrete, asphalt, building materials and other uses where long-term storage and persistence can be demonstrated. Only biochar from a high-technology production facility is eligible, and the biochar must contain at least 50% carbon on a dry-weight basis. Project proponents need scientifically robust evidence for any permanence factor that differs from the methodology's conservative soil defaults.
The methodology excludes fuel use, use as a reduction agent in steel production, and applications in which substantial biochar carbon is oxidized. Processing into activated carbon is identified as an example where oxidation or fossil-energy input may make the application ineligible. A non-soil pathway is also excluded if it loses more than 50% of the original biochar carbon. In every case, the eligible end use must occur within one year of production because the 100-year decay period begins at production.
High-technology vs low-technology facilities
This classification has a major effect on crediting. A facility is high-technology only if all four conditions are satisfied: pyrolysis gases are recovered or combusted; at least 70% of the heat energy produced is used, accounting for transfer inefficiencies; appropriate pollution controls are in place; and production temperature is measured and reported using a recordable electronic signal. Missing one condition makes the facility low-technology.
| Aspect | High technology | Low technology |
|---|---|---|
| Thermochemical process emissions (PEP) | Treated as zero because net pyrolysis emissions are de minimis | Direct measurements or a credible kiln-specific factor may be used; 0.049 tCH4/t biochar is the conservative default for an unlisted or unknown kiln |
| Carbon content (FCp) | Laboratory material analysis required | Laboratory analysis preferred; conservative feedstock defaults may be used where compliant sampling is not possible |
| Permanence if temperature is unknown | Not applicable because temperature must be recorded | Conservative default factor of 0.56 |
| Eligible applications | Soil and non-soil | Soil only |
The methane default can overwhelm marginal low-tech projects. When the conservative 0.049 tCH4/t biochar factor and VM0044's methane GWP of 28 are used, the deduction is 1.372 tCO2e per tonne of biochar before other project emissions. That value is not mandatory for every low-tech kiln: a factor for a listed kiln or another scientifically supported value may be used where the methodology's evidence requirements are met.
How VM0044 quantifies carbon removals
The first calculation estimates stabilized organic carbon in the biochar:
Gross stabilized carbon (tCO2e) = dry biochar mass × organic carbon fraction × permanence factor × 44/12
The complete result must then deduct the relevant production, application-stage and leakage emissions:
Net removals = gross stabilized carbon − production emissions − application-stage emissions − leakage
For high-technology facilities, production emissions can include non-renewable energy used for feedstock pre-treatment and auxiliary energy used to initiate or maintain pyrolysis. Application-stage processing such as grinding or sifting may also create emissions. Calling the first equation “net credits” is only appropriate when every applicable deduction has been quantified or is demonstrably zero.
For soil end use, VM0044 provides the following conservative permanence defaults:
| Production temperature | Permanence factor |
|---|---|
| Above 600 degrees C | 0.89 |
| 450 to 600 degrees C | 0.80 |
| 350 to 450 degrees C | 0.65 |
| Unknown low-tech production temperature | 0.56 |
The following examples illustrate the effect of the defaults; they are not forecasts for a real project.
| Illustrative scenario | Stabilized carbon | Explicit deduction | Result before any other applicable deductions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 t high-tech wood biochar; assumed lab result 77% organic carbon; above 600 degrees C | 500 × 0.77 × 0.89 × 44/12 = 1,256.4 tCO2e | High-tech PEP is zero | 1,256.4 tCO2e only if pre-treatment, auxiliary energy, application processing and leakage are also zero |
| 100 t low-tech wood biochar; 77% wood-pyrolysis default; unknown temperature | 100 × 0.77 × 0.56 × 44/12 = 158.1 tCO2e | Default methane: 100 × 0.049 × 28 = 137.2 tCO2e | 20.9 tCO2e before other deductions |
| 100 t low-tech rice-husk biochar; 49% rice-pyrolysis default; unknown temperature | 100 × 0.49 × 0.56 × 44/12 = 100.6 tCO2e | Default methane: 137.2 tCO2e | −36.6 tCO2e before other deductions, so no credits |
The practical lesson is to collect project-specific evidence early. Temperature records, laboratory carbon results, energy data, kiln evidence and actual transport routes determine whether conservative defaults apply and whether the project remains credit-positive.
Leakage, permanence and additionality
Leakage from activity shifting is zero and biomass diversion is treated as negligible because VM0044 permits only qualifying waste biomass. Transport is different. Feedstock transport and biochar-to-application transport are tested separately; each is zero only where its to-and-from round trip is less than 200 km. Longer movements must be quantified under CDM TOOL12.
Permanence is handled differently from AFOLU projects. VM0044 considers reversal risk negligible once eligible end use has been verified. Incorporating soil biochar to a minimum depth of 10 cm, or mixing surface-applied biochar with less combustible and less erodible substrates, mitigates fire and erosion risk. Durable materials protect biochar from combustion and decay. Previously verified removals also do not depend on the project continuing: applied biochar remains a carbon sink if a developer later stops operating.
Additionality under v1.2 has three gates: regulatory surplus, inclusion on the activity-method positive list, and an investment analysis under Verra tool VT0008. The methodology's global assessment calculated biochar penetration at approximately 0.06%, below the 5% positive-list threshold. Passing the penetration test alone is not enough; v1.2 added the investment-analysis requirement.
What you monitor
VM0044 separates parameters fixed at validation from parameters monitored during the project. The monitoring schedule is more specific than “check annually”:
| Parameter | Minimum monitoring or recording frequency |
|---|---|
| Dry biochar mass | Monitored continuously and recorded at least monthly; quantities cross-checked with invoices or equivalent evidence |
| Moisture content | Each batch, so wet mass can be converted to dry mass |
| Organic carbon fraction | Annually, after a material feedstock change, or after a material thermochemical-process change—whichever is more frequent |
| Production temperature | Recorded continuously using a digital or analog electronic signal and aggregated to annual averages |
| H:Corg ratio for soil use | Every batch; must remain at or below 0.7 |
| Waste heat utilization | Assessed annually; must remain at least 70% for high-technology classification |
A chain of custody must connect feedstock origin, production batch and final application. The project must provide at least one geodetic coordinate for each application instance, together with enough geographic information for a validation/verification body to sample it. This requirement applies to soil and non-soil applications and helps prevent double counting.
Monitoring records require an off-site electronic backup and must remain secure and retrievable for at least two years after the project crediting period ends. For an implementation-ready evidence map, use the free VM0044 checklist and 12-module MRV schema.
Primary sources
- VM0044 Biochar Utilization in Soil and Non-Soil Applications, v1.2 — active methodology page
- VM0044 v1.2 methodology PDF
- Verra biochar methodology FAQs
- M0226 major-revision public consultation
FAQ
What is VM0044?
VM0044 is Verra's Verified Carbon Standard methodology for issuing carbon removal credits from biochar. Version 1.2 covers eligible waste biomass converted by pyrolysis, gasification or a biomass boiler and then placed in an approved soil or durable non-soil application. Credits are issued only for biochar that reaches an eligible application.
How many carbon credits does a tonne of biochar generate?
There is no universal conversion rate. Using illustrative assumptions, high-tech wood biochar with a 77% laboratory carbon result and a 0.89 permanence factor contains about 2.51 tCO2e of stabilized carbon per dry tonne before applicable deductions. Low-tech results depend on feedstock, temperature evidence, kiln-specific or default methane emissions, energy use, processing and transport. A project can become net negative and earn no credits.
What feedstocks are eligible under VM0044?
Only purely biogenic waste biomass that is domestically sourced and not purpose-grown. Categories include agricultural residues, food-processing residues, forestry and wood waste, recycling-economy streams, aquaculture plants, animal manure and high-carbon fly ash. Every feedstock must meet all core applicability and sustainability conditions.
What is the difference between high-technology and low-technology biochar under VM0044?
High-technology facilities recover or combust pyrolysis gases, use at least 70% of produced heat, meet pollution-control requirements and electronically record production temperature. Their thermochemical-process emissions are treated as zero and they can serve soil and non-soil uses. Low-technology facilities may serve soil applications only. Where direct or kiln-specific methane evidence is unavailable, the conservative default is 0.049 tCH4 per tonne of biochar.
How long does biochar store carbon under VM0044?
VM0044 accounts for storage over a 100-year horizon. For soil use, the permanence factor ranges from 0.89 above 600 degrees C to 0.65 at 350–450 degrees C. Low-tech production with an unknown temperature uses a conservative default of 0.56.
Does VM0044 require a buffer pool?
VM0044 treats the reversal risk of verified, applied biochar as negligible and does not apply an AFOLU-style buffer deduction. Eligible end-use and monitoring requirements mitigate combustion, erosion and management risks before credits are verified.
How is biochar converted into tCO2e under VM0044?
Multiply dry biochar mass by its organic carbon fraction, permanence factor and 44/12 to calculate gross stabilized carbon. Then subtract applicable production emissions, application-stage emissions and leakage. The result is net tCO2e removals, not automatically the number of credits issued.
What version of VM0044 is current?
VM0044 v1.2, Biochar Utilization in Soil and Non-Soil Applications, remains active as of 16 July 2026 and is eligible for the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles label. Verra is consulting on major revision M0226 from 15 July to 17 August 2026, but the proposed revision does not replace v1.2 unless and until Verra publishes a new version.