Carbon credit procurement platform Senken has signed a multi-year agreement with carbon removal company Carbonsate to purchase 50,000 tonnes of permanent carbon removal, in what the companies described as Europe’s largest biomass storage deal to date.
The carbon removal will come from Carbonsate’s biomass storage project in Namibia, with deliveries scheduled to begin this year and continue through 2028, ESG Today reported.
Carbonsate stores waste wood in sealed underground chambers designed to prevent the material from burning or decomposing. This keeps the carbon contained for centuries and avoids its release into the atmosphere.
The company’s storage sites use a monitoring, reporting and verification system and are independently verified under the Puro.earth standard.
The companies said the agreement is also the world’s second-largest buyer commitment in the biomass geological storage category and the largest for a project operating in Africa.
Unlike technologies that capture carbon directly from the air, biomass storage does not require an energy-intensive carbon capture process. The companies said this allows permanent carbon removal at a lower cost than direct air capture.
Carbonsate said the agreement would help it expand its storage sites in Namibia and provide greater certainty for future project development.
“Long-term commitments like this one give project developers the certainty to build ahead of demand,” said Johanna Broell, co-founder and CEO of Carbonsate.
Senken, founded in 2022, operates a platform that helps companies source and assess carbon credits. Its Sustainability Integrity Index evaluates projects using more than 600 data points, with the company saying it rejects 95% of projects assessed on its platform.
The platform is used by large European companies including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and DZ Bank, Senken said.
Adrian Wons, CEO of Senken, said demand for permanent carbon removal was growing faster than available supply, making long-term agreements important for companies seeking access to verified projects.
“We committed for multiple years to secure access for European buyers to credible removal at prices they can plan with,” Wons said.
