Boeing Has a Carbon Emissions Problem. Startup Charm Industrial Is Cleaning Up

Boeing has signed a deal with startup Charm Industrial to remove 100,000 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

Charm collects agricultural and forestry waste and uses heat to convert it into a product it calls “bio-oil,” a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that the company injects underground, often into former oil wells. Once the carbon is securely sequestered, Charm sells carbon removal credits to corporations seeking to offset their emissions. Axios first reported the deal between Boeing and Charm.

The aviation industry has made minimal progress in cutting its carbon footprint, leaving many companies searching for viable alternatives. Carbon removal has emerged as one of the most promising strategies — with the potential to be more cost-effective than transitioning entirely to sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).

According to one study, the aviation sector may need to spend at least $60 billion on carbon offsets by 2050 to achieve net-zero emissions.

In addition to bio-oil sequestration, Charm Industrial can produce biochar, a carbon-rich substance that, when applied to soil, can improve agricultural productivity. However, those efforts remain in early development stages, according to data from the carbon removal registry Isometric.

Financial details of the Boeing-Charm deal were not disclosed. Two years ago, Charm sold 112,000 carbon removal credits to Frontier, an advanced market commitment, for $53 million — roughly $470 per metric ton. The company has since stated its goal of reducing the cost of carbon removal to around $50 per metric ton.