A Cornwall-based biochar developer has become the first UK carbon dioxide removal company to receive a commercial loan, as the Green Finance Institute launches a new initiative aimed at bridging the financing gap holding back Britain's nascent carbon removal sector.
Restord has secured £1m in financing from Oxbury Bank through the GFI's newly launched Carbon Dioxide Removal Catalyst, a programme designed to move CDR projects away from grant dependency and towards bankable, revenue-generating operations. Philanthropic capital from Terraset, a founding partner of the Catalyst, was used to reduce the risk profile of the deal sufficiently to attract the commercial loan.
The financing structure combines a forward purchase of carbon credits from Terraset with a supply chain partnership bringing together Restord, waste management firm The Green Waste Company, and pyrolyser technology provider Woodtek Engineering. The facility is expected to sequester around 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually through biochar production.
The GFI developed the Catalyst following analysis identifying a persistent commercialisation gap in the UK CDR market. Despite more than 100 domestic project developers being active, the UK accounts for under 1% of global carbon removal credits. High capital costs, technology scale risk and limited early revenue certainty have kept most projects from reaching commercial viability.
The initiative is operating against a backdrop of strengthening policy signals, including government plans to incorporate CDR into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme by 2029 and the development of Carbon Contracts for Difference. The UK's Carbon Budget Delivery Plan has set a target of 21.8 million tonnes of engineered removals by 2035.
As well as providing hands-on deal structuring support, the Catalyst will feed findings on real-world delivery barriers back to government. Milkywire, whose Climate Transformation Fund backs early-stage CDR innovation, is serving as a strategic adviser to the initiative.
UK biochar developer secures first commercial loan as new CDR finance initiative launches
