Zurich Signs Landmark Carbon Removal Deal With Nellie

Zurich Insurance Group has entered into a landmark agreement with the bioengineered CO2 removal-focused startup Nellie Technologies to buy up to 17,500 tons of carbon removal over the next five years. Announced on January 30, 2025, this agreement marks the biggest carbon removal deal for Zurich Insurance Group so far and ranks it among the top 20 corporate buyers of carbon dioxide removals, CDR.fyi reported.

Zurich says that the deal supports its ambitions to reach net-zero operational emissions by 2030, an ambition set back in 2022 when it brought forward two decades of an original 2050 target. Although Zurich has remained committed to doing everything in its power to minimize its carbon footprint, it is working with a wide diversity of technology-driven and nature-based solution providers that address residual, unavoidable emissions.

Chris Minter, Sustainable Supply Chain Lead at Zurich Insurance, said, "At Zurich Insurance, we understand the need to accelerate carbon removal capacity to reach net-zero emissions. We are investing in a variety of innovative carbon removal solutions, and we are pleased to complete this multi-year agreement after conducting our due diligence. This agreement is another step forward in our sustainability journey and reinforces our commitment to combating climate change.

The core technology behind Nellie Technologies' carbon removal solution is biochar production, which is gaining momentum as one of the key methods for carbon sequestration. Biochar, or biological charcoal, is created by heating biomass — typically forest residue, wood, or crop waste — in the absence of oxygen. This process results in a stable form of carbon that, when buried in soil, can sequester carbon for centuries while enhancing soil fertility.

Already, several major companies, including Google and Microsoft, have included biochar production in their carbon removal strategies. However, what sets Nellie Technologies apart is that the company uses algae as its feedstock. In the two years since its establishment in 2022, Nellie has developed proprietary technology to rapidly grow microalgal biomass, which it then manufactures into biochar and biofertilizer. This innovative approach locks carbon in for good and sells carbon dioxide removal certificates, termed CORCs in both the compliance and voluntary markets.

Under the new deal, Zurich will buy CORCs produced from Nellie's UK activities. The biomass will be used in the UK agricultural sector, thus adding to the environmental value created by carbon removal. Nellie Technologies said that the agreement will help it meet its capital needs as it scales up operations, including expanding its pilot site and increasing its capacity to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

Stephen Milburn is the Founder and CEO of Nellie Technologies. Speaking of the transformation, he stated: "This transformational deal both validates our dream to scale the systems we set up, in addition to vital funding required for expanding the same. The future years would look at transforming a pilot project of carbon dioxide removal into its scale-up implementation deployment, ultimately enhancing societal and economic co-benefits from such a business model.

This partnership is expected to accelerate Nellie Technologies' efforts toward becoming a leader in scalable carbon dioxide removal solutions. The company's approach is well aligned with Zurich's broader climate ambitions, which are centered around reducing emissions as much as possible before relying on removal technologies for the remainder.

Our alignment with Zurich's climate ambitions is crystal clear," Milburn added. "Removing CO2 should only happen after an organization has exhausted all efforts to prevent emissions. This balanced strategy of reducing emissions as much as possible and removing the rest will ultimately help fix the climate, and we are proud to be part of this effort.

Such deals between Zurich Insurance and Nellie Technologies, and similar deals being concluded elsewhere, show the rising demand by corporations to scale carbon removal solutions. Such partnerships underscore not only the increasing relevance of biochar as a carbon removal technology but also its ability to enable innovative startups to make significant contributions in combating climate change.

This investment in bioengineered carbon removal by Zurich through this agreement is a testament to the company's continued commitment to sustainability and innovation. The efforts of the company to partner with forward-thinking solution providers like Nellie Technologies reflect a broader shift in the corporate landscape toward meaningful and science-driven climate action.