Why TD Bank Is Buying CDR From Charm, and What It Means for Canada

Today, we’re excited to share that Charm has signed a long-term offtake agreement with TD Bank for 44,000 tonnes of carbon removals. The opportunity ahead is so immense that we’re accelerating our exploration of new operations in Canada alongside our continued expansion in the USA (check out our recent oil asset conversion in Louisiana).

Beyond delivering critical, durable carbon removals, this strategic partnership opens the door to scaling our operations in a place with abundant biomass, urgent climate needs, and stakeholders motivated to scale new solutions.

From Wildfire Smoke Across Continents to Real, Local Solutions

If you were in North America during the past few summers, especially 2023 when a record-breaking 18.5 million hectares burned in Canada, you’ve likely experienced the impacts of excess wildfire fuels firsthand. Smoke plumes stretched across the continent and even reached Europe, triggering public health alerts because of the dangerous levels of particulates in the air.

In 2017, smoke from wildfires and pile burns was linked to 20,000 premature deaths and $200 billion in total health damages in the US
Each ton of PM2.5 is estimated to cost $174,000 in health impacts
By processing biomass instead of burning it, each Charm pyrolyzer could avoid 77 m.t. of PM2.5 emissions annually—equating to $13.4 million in annual health benefits.

Wildfires are a growing threat to climate, public health, and community resilience. Reducing excess forest biomass — dead trees, dense undergrowth, and other wildfire fuels is often done via pile burns, which also create PM2.5 and reduce air quality. Pyrolysis of these excess residues dramatically reduces these pollutants compared to pile burns.

A Partnership Rooted in Shared Vision

Under the new agreement:

TD Bank is purchasing over 44,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits, both bio-oil sequestration and biochar carbon removal from Charm over a ten-year term, beginning in 2029
A portion of those credits will be sourced from our future Canadian operations, supporting new partnerships with Canadian farmers and communities prioritizing wildfire fuel reduction
TD Bank will use Charm’s removals to offset operational emissions, accelerating climate progress for itself and its customers

Modular Pyrolysis: Where Biomass Meets Impact

Earlier posts like Charm Duo and Modular Pyrolysis: Massive Impact explain how Charm converts ~80% of the biomass we use into durable carbon storage. Instead of hauling biomass across long distances, we deploy small, modular pyrolyzers near the biomass sources and injection sites. This applies whether we’re working in wildfire-prone forests or agricultural regions full of post-harvest residues.

We’re building towards fully mobile units that convert biomass into two carbon-rich products:

Bio-oil, which we inject deep underground for permanent carbon storage
Biochar, a soil amendment that locks carbon in the ground for centuries and improves soil health

This decentralized strategy speeds up deployment, reduces transportation emissions, and helps prevent wildfires before they happen.

Canada: Challenge Meets Opportunity

Why expand into Canada?

The Canadian government has signaled strong support for durable carbon removal solutions, including investments in innovation, early market development, and an upcoming public procurement for carbon dioxide removal — a first-of-its-kind initiative in Canada aimed at catalyzing market demand and accelerating deployment of high-durability solutions like Charm’s.

Other reasons are also compelling:

The country has massive biomass production from both forests and farms and wildfire risk is growing, with recent record-breaking fire seasons showing the need for urgent action
Canadian Federal programs like the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative are supporting efforts to reduce wildfire fuels and protect communities
Canadian farmers are navigating tight margins and rising input costs, making it all the more important to find value-added uses for materials that would otherwise go to waste. Large quantities of crop residues like wheat straw and corn stover are left to rot, releasing carbon back into the atmosphere. When used in Charm’s process, these could provide another income stream for farmers.
Alberta is home to tens of thousands of orphaned and inactive oil and gas wells, many of which pose environmental and safety risks if left unaddressed. Plugging and abandoning these wells is critical not only to prevent environmental damage, but also is an opportunity to repurpose some of these sites for permanent bio-oil storage.

Charm’s modular pyrolyzers are just as effective near farms as they are in forests. By processing leftover plant matter into carbon-storing products, we can create climate benefits, improve soil, and reduce fire risk all at once, a new tool for building rural economic and climate resilience.

Canada presents a unique opportunity to fulfill all of the many positive community impacts Charm can drive: help solve wildfire problems people breathe in and see every day, help clean up and plug old oil wells, and deliver climate impact that also benefits local economies and ecosystems.

Mission making Impact

This is a big milestone, but it’s only one part of a much larger mission: wildfire risk, unused agricultural residues, and carbon emissions are deeply connected, and we’re building systems that help solve all three.

If you’d like to learn more about how pyrolysis works in the field, check out Modular Pyrolysis: Massive Impact, and stay tuned for more updates as we bring these systems north of the border.