Agricultural waste is often treated as a disposal problem, but Zurich based climate technology company Cotierra is turning it into a potential tool for healthier soils, stronger farms and lower carbon emissions. The company has raised $3 million to move its decentralised biochar technology from successful field deployments toward repeatable commercial scale, bringing its total funding since inception to $4.75 million.
The round was led by PINC, the venture arm of international food and beverage company Paulig, and Carbon Removal Partners. Zürcher Kantonalbank, Carbon Drawdown Initiative, better ventures, GOTA Ventures, Hungry4Impact and Triple Impact Ventures also participated, alongside climate and impact focused angel investors.
Turning Farm Waste Into Biochar
Cotierra is building infrastructure that allows agricultural businesses to process biomass close to where it is generated. Instead of transporting agricultural residues over long distances or leaving them unused, its system converts the material into biochar that can be returned to agricultural soils.
The company initially developed its approach around coffee production. Its reactor converts coffee residues into biochar, while its broader platform combines hardware, digital monitoring and agronomic support. Cotierra says the process can permanently store carbon in soils while helping improve soil health and reduce agricultural emissions.
The approach is particularly relevant to tropical agriculture, where farms and processing sites can be geographically dispersed and where agricultural residues may otherwise have limited economic value.
Connecting Hardware and Software
Cotierra’s ambition goes beyond manufacturing biochar reactors. It is developing an integrated technology platform designed to make decentralised biochar production easier to operate, monitor and verify.
The company’s IoT enabled monitoring system tracks biochar production and application through connected hardware and a digital application. This creates data on how much biochar is produced and applied, while supporting the measurement of carbon removal and other environmental outcomes.
Cotierra is also developing a verification process for its environmental data. The company says this process is currently being validated by Carbon Standards International, an important step for building confidence around measurable carbon removal claims.
Improving Soil and Farm Resilience
The company’s model is designed to deliver benefits beyond carbon removal. Cotierra works with agronomists and universities to support farmers in applying biochar appropriately to improve soil and crop health.
According to the company, its agricultural programmes monitor changes such as fertiliser use and crop yields through agronomic studies. The objective is to create a more resilient agricultural system while generating additional emissions reductions.
This creates a potential link between climate technology and supply chain resilience. For food and beverage companies, healthier and more productive farms could help protect the future availability of agricultural commodities that are increasingly exposed to drought, heavy rainfall, pests and other climate related stresses.
Expanding Beyond Coffee
Coffee remains the foundation of Cotierra’s commercial model, but the company is now looking to apply its technology across additional tropical agricultural value chains.
Its wider strategy is aimed at helping food and beverage companies strengthen sourcing networks while reducing emissions and removing carbon through on farm infrastructure. The company says its technology can support agricultural commodities where biomass is widely dispersed and needs to be processed close to its source.
Cotierra’s broader mission is to combine carbon removal with improvements in rural communities and agricultural productivity. Its official platform describes the model as a way for companies to strengthen soil health, improve farmer incomes and build more resilient supply chains.
Moving Toward Commercial Scale
The new $3 million investment gives Cotierra capital to turn its field experience into a more standardised hardware and software product. The company plans to strengthen its technology, expand deployments and build the infrastructure needed to support larger agricultural networks.
With its focus on decentralised production, connected monitoring and verified environmental outcomes, Cotierra is positioning biochar as more than a carbon removal technology. The company wants it to become an infrastructure layer for tropical agriculture, turning agricultural residues into a resource that can support soil restoration, farm resilience and lower carbon supply chains.