Vilnius-based climate finance startup InSoil has secured a landmark €100 million partnership with Key Carbon, a major financier in the voluntary carbon market, to supercharge the adoption of regenerative agriculture across Europe. The deal will see Key Carbon finance InSoil’s core offering: zero-interest “Green Loans” for small and medium-sized farms. In exchange for adopting practices that build healthier soil and capture CO2, farmers get vital capital upfront, while InSoil and Key Carbon receive a share of the high-integrity carbon credits generated. The collaboration aims to bring one million hectares of farmland into the program by 2026, turning European soil into a significant carbon sink and creating a new, verifiable supply of nature-based removal credits for the corporate market.
InSoil (formerly HeavyFinance) is a European climate finance company that facilitates the transition to regenerative agriculture. The company provides financing to farmers, primarily through zero-interest loans, in exchange for a share of the resulting carbon credits. In addition to capital, InSoil offers technical guidance and utilizes a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system involving soil analysis and remote sensing to quantify and validate carbon sequestration on farmland.
Key Carbon is a financier and permanent capital vehicle operating in the voluntary carbon market. The company invests in a global portfolio of projects that generate carbon credits, acquiring streams and royalties from initiatives in areas like regenerative agriculture and clean cookstove distribution. Its model is focused on securing a long-term supply of verified carbon credits to sell to corporations and other organizations for their climate commitments.
“As farmers across Europe face headwinds from climate change and global regulatory dynamics, financial and agronomic support from projects like these are critical to achieving the systemic shifts that achieve real impact in carbon sequestration and a more resilient food system that doesn’t leave the stewards of our lands in the dust,” said Laimonas Noreika, CEO of InSoil. “Through this agreement with Key Carbon, we will be able to reach more farmers, accelerate climate-positive outcomes, and deliver the kind of high-integrity credits the carbon market increasingly demands. As institutional interest in nature-based solutions continues to grow, our work with Key Carbon will represent a model for blending sustainable finance with climate impact, and turning soil into both a climate solution and a revenue stream for European farmers.”
The multi-year partnership, InSoil’s largest raise to date and one of Europe’s largest financial commitments to climate-resilient farming, grants Key Carbon royalty rights to InSoil’s Green Loans financing model, which offers zero-interest loans to farmers adopting regenerative agricultural practices in return for a fixed share of carbon credits. In addition, Key Carbon’s subsidiary, EU Soil Carbon Corp, will fund the expansion of InSoil’s carbon farming business, which provides farmers with further technical and financial support in implementing regenerative practices.
Luke Leslie, CEO of Key Carbon, said: “Corporate appetite for carbon credits is increasingly shifting towards high-integrity, removal-based and localised solutions to meet the evolving compliance standards. Our partnership with InSoil will provide increased access to funding for farmers, enabling the transition to regenerative agriculture and growing Key Carbon’s supply of high-quality carbon credits. With its deep agronomic expertise and strong local networks, InSoil is uniquely positioned to deliver meaningful environmental outcomes and ensure the integrity of carbon credit generation. The partnership will also provide Key Carbon with access to millions of hectares of European farmland with the potential to deliver additional biodiversity monitoring.”
With conventional agriculture accounting for more than 20% of global emissions and soil seen as a critical carbon sink, this collaboration aims to unlock funds that help farmers generate high-quality, nature-based carbon credits that are scientifically validated and third-party verified in alignment with the EU Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF). As farmers transition to practices that align with regenerative agriculture principles (those that increase biodiversity, build soil health, and improve water cycles, resulting in more carbon drawdown and greater resilience to extreme weather events), InSoil’s Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework is deployed to ensure accurate, transparent, and high-integrity carbon credit generation. These approaches include laboratory-grade soil sampling, advanced remote sensing technologies, expert agronomic assessments, and additional data-driven methodologies.
While InSoil’s private debt arm has already deployed over €80 million in financing to over 3,000 farmers, this funding from Key Carbon will enable European farmers to regenerate their lands; benefit from diversified revenue opportunities through carbon credit generation; and establish productive and profitable agricultural operations into the future.
Cobalt and Abatable advised InSoil on the transaction. Philip Lee and Sorainen provided legal advice to Key Carbon.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/insoil-key-carbon-e100m/
