CDR and Wildfire

This summer, smoke from Canadian and US wildfires pushed unhealthy air onto more than 115 million Americans across the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic. Nearly 40,000 fires have already burned over 3.6 million acres in 2026, almost a million acres above the ten-year average for mid-July. 

The fuel for the next catastrophic fire is sitting in our forests right now, and Charm Industrial is turning that fuel into permanent carbon removal while delivering cleaner air and local jobs. 

Charm’s scaled carbon removals can deliver climate impact—plus billions in economic, environmental, and health co-benefits.

At operational scale, Charm’s pyrolysis fleet could:

• Reduce the costs of catastrophic wildfire risk reduction by $1.1 to $5.6 billion annually

• Deliver up to $53.6 billion each year in health benefits from avoided exposure to smoke from pile burns and wildfires

Turning Forest Waste Into Climate Benefit

Charm sources biomass from wildfire mitigation projects. We use the low-value, non-saleable woody biomass that typically ends up in pile burns, and might otherwise fuel the next catastrophic wildfire. Our pyrolyzers convert this biomass into a stable, carbon-rich bio-oil that we permanently lock away deep in the subsurface, where the oil came from to begin with. We also produce biochar that can improve soil health and water retention.

More Charm operations means more wildfire risk reduction, fewer emissions from open burns and improved air quality for rural communities. 

The wildfire biomass challenge is real

Federal fuels reduction is behind pace: Between 2010–2020, federal agencies spent an average of $590 million per year on wildfire fuels treatments. While important work is getting done, it’s not happening at the pace or scale that meets this critical situation. In FY23, 800,000 acres were treated in wildfire crisis zones—out of 50 million priority acres needing treatment.

Charm can reduce biomass disposal costs by $400–$2,000 per acre, enabling more acres to be treated with the same public investment.

For example, once Charm is operating 4,000 pyrolyzers, each processing 9,500 metric tonnes (m.t.) of biomass per year—we will support 2.8 million acres of wildfire mitigation annually. That scale unlocks massive public savings and climate outcomes.

Water Utilities Also Stand to Benefit

Wildfires can wreak havoc on watersheds and threaten the drinking water our communities depend on. For instance, after the 2020 Bobcat Fire, projects to remove sediment from water reservoirs cost Southern California utilities and their ratepayers over $300 million. Proactive wildfire mitigation forest treatments not only reduce fire risk—they protect drinking water and improve forest resilience.

Fortunately, many water managers are thinking ahead and working collaboratively to find ways to protect forest health and wildfire resilience as a key method of protecting municipal water supplies that provide water for millions of people. Many of these projects require some biomass thinning, and that’s where Charm comes in, processing biomass from fuels projects designed to protect water quality, and decreasing fire risk that threatens water supplies. In Colorado, Charm processed biomass from a project prioritized by the Upper South Platte Partnership and managed by the Colorado State Forest Service. This project is part of the Denver regional Forests-to-Faucets initiative, which invests in these projects and is expected to yield $86 million in net benefits.

Cleaner Air, Healthier Communities

Wildfire and prescribed burn smoke is a massive health burden, accounting for an estimated 25–50% of PM2.5 exposure in Western states.

• In 2017, smoke from wildfires and pile burns was linked to 20,000 premature deaths and $200 billion in total health damages

• On average, 123 dry m.t. of biomass burned produces 1 m.t. of PM2.5

• Each ton of PM2.5 is estimated to cost $174,000 in health impacts (EPA data via California estimates)

By processing biomass instead of burning it, each Charm pyrolyzer helps avoid 77 m.t. of PM2.5 emissions annually—equating to $13.4 million in annual health benefits. A full fleet delivers $53.6 billion in public health benefits each year, all while reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfire and protecting forest health.