24 July 2026
Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh
Published on: 24/07/2026
Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Chennai-based developer ProClime has commissioned a biochar plant in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, which will also serve as a research centre.
The project, India's first state-backed biochar initiative, was originally announced in August 2025. It has been developed in partnership with the state forest department, which "assures and facilitates feedstock supply," according to the developer.
"Producing approximately 0.45 tonnes of biochar per day, the plant will serve as both a working production unit, a training facility for future plants under the ProClime Biochar Platform and a research and demonstration site," said ProClime in a statement.
"The facility was commissioned to address the state's chronic pine needle and forest biomass surplus, which has long posed a forest-fire hazard, by converting this waste into a stable, high-value soil amendment," it added.
The plant's technology was "indigenously in India with ongoing technical support from IIT Roorkee and is suitable for varied types of feedstock - forest residue, invasives and agri-residue," still according to the developer.
"For years, pine needles have been seen only as a fire hazard. This facility flips that story, turning waste that fuels forest fires into biochar that rebuilds soil and stores carbon," said Vijayakumar Rangaraju, chief mission officer at ProClime.
The R&D scheme will conduct research in areas such as biochar characterisation across biomass feedstocks, soil health and agricultural productivity, carbon stability and permanence assessment as well as application-specific optimisation across cropping systems.
The developer signed a second deal with the state in November to develop an afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation project, which will cover up to 50,000 hectares of private agricultural land.
The Quantum View: The project took approximately one year from being announced until it was commissioned, demonstrating both the developer's and the state government's ability to move fast. Biochar is a nascent CO2 removal market that has been getting attention from investors as its storage capacity lasts for centuries while costing less than other technologies, such as direct air capture.
Proclime : [email protected]
