Verra has approved the first carbon credits generated under its methodology for reducing food loss and waste, opening a new pathway for food rescue projects to access carbon market finance.

The credits come from the Brightly – Reducing Food Loss and Waste project in the United States. The project generated 721,649 Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) by redirecting surplus food to people instead of allowing it to enter waste streams.

The milestone gives food rescue organizations a new way to monetize avoided methane emissions while addressing food insecurity. It also broadens the types of activities that can earn verified carbon credits. This goes beyond traditional areas like forestry, renewable energy, and methane capture.

Verra approved the credits under its VM0046 Methodology for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, v1.0. Mandy Rambharos, CEO, Verra, remarked: 

“Food waste is one of the most overlooked sources of methane, and preventing it is one of the most solvable issues. This first issuance under VM0046 proves that keeping food out of landfills can be measured with integrity, and that carbon markets can move finance to the organizations making it happen. It also shows why Verra keeps broadening its methodology portfolio: there are many ways to cut emissions, and each one needs a credible pathway to carbon finance.”

721,649 Credits Put Food Rescue on the Carbon Map

Brightly’s project covers food rescue activities carried out between March 2020 and December 2023. During that period, participating organizations rescued 15.3 billion pounds of surplus food. After applying historical baselines and accounting for project-related emissions, 3.1 billion pounds of the rescued food qualified for carbon crediting.

That activity produced 721,649 VCUs, with each credit representing one tonne of avoided greenhouse gas emissions. The credits received an A ex-ante rating from BeZero Carbon, indicating a high likelihood that each credit represents one tonne of avoided emissions.

SCS Global Services, a Verra-approved body, independently validated and verified the project. Then, Verra reviewed and approved the issuance.

The first issuance follows Verra’s registration of Brightly’s project in May 2026. At that stage, Verra expected the project to save about 167 million pounds of food over seven years, from 2020 to 2027. It would also cut emissions by about 115,118 tonnes of CO2e.

The latest issuance reflects verified historical activity rather than the entire future potential of the project.  

How Verra’s Food-Waste Methodology Works

Verra’s VM0046 methodology has been active since July 12, 2023. It falls under the Verified Carbon Standard’s waste-handling and disposal sector.

The methodology allows projects to quantify emissions avoided when food that would otherwise become waste remains in the human food supply chain. Projects can operate at several points along the food chain, including:

• Farms,
• Food processing facilities,
• Retailers,
• Food-service and hospitality businesses, and
• Households.

The methodology measures the emissions that would happen if the food went to a waste site, like a landfill. That makes it different from carbon removal projects. The credits represent avoided emissions, primarily by preventing food from decomposing in waste streams and generating methane.

The methodology also addresses additionality. Brightly establishes a conservative historical baseline for participating organizations, with only food rescued above that baseline eligible for crediting. This ensures that credits show real climate impact. They don’t just reward current food-rescue efforts.

• READ MORE: Verra’s VM0046 Methodology Opens New Path for Food Loss and Waste Carbon Credits

A Billion-Tonne Waste Stream With a Climate Cost

The potential market for this type of project is large because food loss and waste occur across the global food system.

The UN Environment Programme estimates that 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste were generated in 2022 at the retail, food service and household levels. That amounted to 132 kilograms per person and nearly one-fifth of food available to consumers. Households alone wasted more than 1 billion meals per day.

Food loss also occurs before food reaches consumers.

The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 13.2% of food is lost worldwide from harvest to retail. Additionally, 19% is wasted at retail, food service, and households, according to 2024 UNEP statistics. Together, food loss and waste account for an estimated 8% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to FAO.

This gives carbon markets a large potential emissions reduction opportunity. However, not every tonne of wasted food automatically translates into a carbon credit.

Projects must establish baselines, quantify eligible activity, and account for emissions associated with the intervention. VM0046 provides the framework for doing that.

Carbon Revenue Could Help Scale Food Rescue

The Brightly project connects climate finance with food rescue. The company works with food rescue organizations that collect edible surplus food and redistribute it instead of allowing it to enter waste streams. The organizations can then receive revenue from carbon credit sales.

Feeding America said the majority of net proceeds from credit sales will return to participating food rescue organizations. The funding can cover costs like trucks, drivers, refrigeration, staff, and other infrastructure needed to recover and distribute food.

The scale of the network has also expanded significantly.

Brightly partners with 198 Feeding America food banks and 28 independent food rescue groups. This helps us reach communities in every U.S. state and about 97% of U.S. counties. Together, these organizations rescue more than 5 billion pounds of surplus food each year, according to Feeding America.

This can lead to a feedback loop. More carbon revenue helps organizations recover more food. This, in turn, can create further measurable emissions reductions.

Carbon Markets Broaden Beyond Forests and Renewables

The first food-loss-and-waste issuance comes as the broader carbon credit market continues to develop.

The World Bank reported that global carbon credit issuances increased 8% between 2024 and 2025, although issuance remained about 20% below its 2022 peak. Independent crediting mechanisms still accounted for about 70% of total issuance.

At the same time, carbon credit retirements fell by more than 10% in 2025. Voluntary uses made up over 80% of retired credits. Meanwhile, companies and other buyers signed around $12 billion in offtake agreements for future carbon credits. This amount is three times what was recorded in 2024.

Prices also varied sharply by project type. The World Bank said carbon credit prices declined slightly across 2025, but higher-quality and compliance-eligible credits continued to command premiums. CORSIA-eligible credits, for example, traded at around $15 to $22 per tonne, compared with roughly $1 to $14 for most other credit types.

For food-loss-and-waste projects, the key question will be whether buyers place a premium on the combination of methane avoidance, food security, and measurable local impact. 

Food Rescue Enters the Carbon Credit Economy

Verra’s first VM0046 issuance does more than create another category of carbon credits. It demonstrates that food rescue can be measured through a standardized carbon methodology and converted into a tradable environmental asset.

The Brightly project also shows how carbon finance can potentially reach organizations that traditionally depend heavily on grants and donations.

With 721,649 credits now approved from the first issuance, the project provides an initial test of demand for this new credit type. Future projects could expand the market to other parts of the food supply chain, including retailers, food processors, farms, and food-service businesses.

The climate opportunity is significant. Over 1 billion tonnes of food waste are created each year at the consumer level. This waste contributes to nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

VM0046 does not solve that problem by itself. But it gives project developers a standardized way to measure a portion of the emissions avoided when food stays in the human food system. For carbon markets, that creates a new pathway to finance climate action while also reducing food waste and supporting food security.

• FURTHER READING: The Power of Plastic Credits: How Verra’s Waste Reduction Program Can End Global Plastic Pollution 

The post Verra Approves First Carbon Credits Under Food Loss and Waste Methodology appeared first on Carbon Credits.

The U.S. Department of War is putting new money behind a technology that could change how solar power reaches the ground: beaming electricity from space. Virginia-based startup Overview Energy received a contract through the Department of War’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF). The company will design, build, and test a ground-based homing beacon for its planned space solar system.

The contract value was not disclosed.

The beacon is a key part of Overview’s plan. It would allow satellites to identify and authenticate receiving sites on Earth before sending power to them. The company says its satellites will collect sunlight in orbit and convert it into a safe, invisible beam of near-infrared light. It plans to test the system in space in 2028, with its first geosynchronous-orbit satellites targeted for deployment from 2030. 

The Pentagon Wants Solar Power Without Fuel Convoys

The project comes as solar power is already expanding at record speed on Earth. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says solar PV additions topped 600 GW in 2025, while total renewable capacity additions reached 800 GW.

Now, U.S. energy and defense agencies are exploring whether some of that growth can move beyond the planet. 

Remote military bases can depend on fuel deliveries to keep generators running. Those supply lines can be expensive, difficult to protect, and vulnerable in conflict zones. Space-based solar power could offer another option.

Overview says its system could send power to remote or contested locations without regular fuel shipments. Satellites could also shift power between receiving sites as demand changes. That makes the technology especially interesting for military operations where reliable energy is difficult to provide.

The OECIF program is designed to support advanced technologies before they reach commercial use. The program works with military users to test new energy systems under real operational requirements.

Overview Energy is not starting from scratch. In May, the Air Force awarded the company a separate contract to study how space-based solar power could support military operations in constrained and contested logistics environments.

The latest contract focuses on a smaller but critical piece of the system: making sure the power beam reaches the right place.

A Beacon Will Tell Satellites Where to Send Power

The homing beacon would be installed at a receiving site on the ground. A satellite would use the beacon to locate the site and establish a secure connection before sending power. The system requires an active and authenticated beacon before transmission begins, according to Overview.

That security feature is important because a power beam cannot simply be pointed toward a general area. The satellite needs to know exactly where the receiver is and confirm that it is an authorized destination.

Overview plans to use near-infrared light to transmit the energy. The company says this approach would allow its satellites to deliver power to existing and future utility-scale solar infrastructure.

The system is designed around satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO). At that altitude, a satellite can remain aligned with the same area of Earth as the planet rotates.

Overview says this could allow its satellites to collect sunlight continuously rather than only when solar panels on the ground are exposed to sunlight. The company has already demonstrated power beaming from a moving airborne platform, testing the tracking and pointing technology that will be needed for its orbital system.

Overview Targets a 2028 Space Demonstration

The next major milestone is the company’s planned 2028 space demonstration. Overview plans to integrate the Pentagon-funded beacon into its first satellite. The company then expects to use the ground hardware as part of a larger GEO constellation targeted for deployment beginning in 2030.

These are company targets, not confirmed commercial launch dates. The 2028 test will matter because the full space-to-ground system has not yet been proven in orbit.

Several questions remain, however. The system must show that it can maintain a precise connection over the long distance between orbit and Earth. It must also demonstrate acceptable conversion and transmission efficiency while meeting safety requirements.

Launch costs are another major issue. Space-based solar systems require large structures and power-generation equipment to be placed in orbit. The economics will depend heavily on how cheaply those systems can be manufactured, launched, and maintained.

Overview has also attracted commercial interest. In April 2026, the company reached an agreement with Meta that gives the company early access to up to 1 GW of planned capacity. Overview expects commercial power delivery around 2030, although that timeline remains a company goal.

• SEE MORE: Elon Musk’s 100 GW Solar Moonshot: Can Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX Pull It Off?

The US Is Funding Multiple Space Solar Approaches

Overview is part of a wider U.S. push into space-based energy. Another company, Katalyst Space, received an OECIF award in September to develop and launch robotic spacecraft that could assemble a large power-beaming system in orbit and transmit electricity back to Earth.

Its approach is different. Katalyst plans to use microwaves, while Overview is developing near-infrared transmission.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has also spent years studying space solar power. Its Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project, or SSPIDR, is examining how satellites could collect sunlight, convert it to radio-frequency energy, and transmit it to ground-based receiving antennas.

The Arachne flight experiment is a major part of that work. It is designed to test solar power generation, beamforming, and wireless power transmission.

DARPA is separately developing technologies for airborne optical power transmission that could create more flexible wireless energy networks.

Together, these programs show that space-based power is moving beyond a purely theoretical idea. Yet, the technology remains at the demonstration stage.

Space Solar Is Arriving as Earth Solar Hits Records

The interest comes at a time when solar power is already dominating new renewable energy growth. The IEA says global renewable capacity additions reached 800 GW in 2025, up 16% from the previous year. It was the 23rd consecutive year of record renewable expansion.

Solar PV made up more than three-quarters of those additions. More than 600 GW of solar capacity was added globally, taking total installed solar PV capacity to about 2,800 GW.

China remains the biggest driver. It added nearly 500 GW of renewable capacity in 2025, including about 370 GW of solar and 117 GW of wind.                                                                                

The IEA expects renewable power capacity to grow by another 4,600 GW between 2025 and 2030, with solar PV accounting for nearly 80% of that increase. But conventional solar still faces limits.

Solar panels on Earth do not generate power at night, and their output can drop because of clouds, weather, and seasonal changes. Grid bottlenecks are also becoming a bigger problem as more renewable projects seek connections.

The IEA has identified more than 2,500 GW of renewable, storage, and large-load projects waiting in grid queues worldwide. Space solar is being developed partly as a way to overcome some of those limits.

From Climate Technology to Energy Security

Space solar power is not yet a proven low-cost alternative to conventional solar. For now, its strongest case may be energy security.

The Pentagon is interested in whether space-based power can provide electricity to locations where fuel deliveries are difficult or dangerous. At the same time, commercial companies see potential for supplying electricity to grids without building an entirely new ground-based power network.

That dual-use potential is helping attract government funding.

The climate benefits could become important if space solar eventually replaces fossil-fuel generation or reduces the need for diesel generators at remote facilities. But that outcome remains unproven.

For now, the key milestone is much simpler: can a satellite safely and efficiently send usable power to Earth? Overview’s 2028 demonstration should provide the first major answer.

If it works, space solar could move from a long-running science project toward a real energy technology. If it fails, the industry will gain valuable data on what still needs to change. Either way, the Pentagon’s latest investment shows that the race to expand solar power is no longer limited to the ground.

The post Pentagon Bets on Space Solar Power as Solar Market Hits Record Growth appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Rio Tinto and Chinese steelmaker Shougang Group have commissioned an industrial-scale carbon capture trial facility designed to capture carbon dioxide directly from blast furnace gas at Shougang’s Jingtang steelmaking base in China.

The facility can process up to 3,000 cubic metres of blast furnace gas per hour and is designed to capture as much as 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

The project targets one of the hardest parts of steelmaking to decarbonize: existing blast furnace operations. Rather than replacing the blast furnace with a different production route, the technology captures CO₂ from gas generated during ironmaking and could potentially allow existing assets to continue operating with lower emissions.

The facility is part of a broader technology partnership between Rio Tinto and Shougang that began with a 2022 memorandum of understanding. The companies are working on low-carbon sintering, blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace optimization, and carbon capture and utilization technologies.

Steelmaking Remains a Major Source of Global Emissions

The project comes as the steel industry faces growing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint.

• Steelmaking accounts for about 7% to 9% of global CO₂-equivalent emissions, according to a 2025 review published in Nature Reviews Clean Technology.

Around 70% of global steel production still uses the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route, which has an emissions intensity of about 2.32 tonnes of CO₂e per tonne of steel.

Global crude steel production reached about 1.85 billion tonnes in 2025. China remained by far the world’s largest producer, producing 960.8 million tonnes, or more than half of global output.

China’s steel industry is particularly important to global decarbonization efforts. Research published in 2026 estimates that China’s iron and steel sector accounts for roughly 15% of the country’s CO₂ emissions and more than 30% of its industrial emissions.

China’s total energy-related CO₂ emissions declined by around 0.5% in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with lower steel and cement production contributing to the decline. However, the scale of China’s steel industry means even incremental changes in emissions intensity can have a significant impact globally.

Shougang’s Steel Footprint

Shougang Group produced 30.23 million tonnes of crude steel in 2025, ranking it 12th among the world’s largest steelmakers, according to World Steel Association data. The company’s production declined from 31.57 million tonnes in 2024.

The company does not appear to publicly disclose a single consolidated current CO₂ footprint for the entire group that can be directly attributed to its 2025 steel production. However, the company has expanded its carbon accounting and product-level carbon footprint systems.

Shougang says Beijing Shougang and Shougang Jingtang have completed organization-level carbon emissions accounting and carbon footprint assessments for customer products. Both operations have also received carbon certification from SGS.

At Jingtang, the company has already been pursuing several measures to lower emissions from conventional steelmaking. Its blast furnace process has increased the share of pellet ore to more than 55%, which Shougang says has reduced CO₂ emissions by more than 167 kilograms per tonne of iron compared with the previous process.

Jingtang has also demonstrated steelmaking using more than 50% scrap in automotive steel production. Higher scrap use can reduce the need for carbon-intensive primary ironmaking.

Rio Tinto and Shougang Scale Up Carbon Capture

The new carbon capture facility follows a smaller-scale blast furnace carbon capture unit commissioned in 2024.

The companies are now testing the technology at a larger industrial scale and plan to operate the facility over the longer term for research and technology development.

Using waste heat from existing steelmaking operations could help reduce the energy requirements and costs associated with carbon capture. If costs can be lowered sufficiently, the approach could eventually be applied to other existing blast furnace facilities.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Sales and Marketing Vice President Ramona Sim said:

“This milestone is an important step in our 30-year relationship with Shougang and our work together to find practical ways to reduce emissions from steelmaking.

“Steelmakers are exploring a range of technologies to lower emissions from existing blast furnace operations, and carbon capture and utilisation could play a key role as these technologies continue to develop.

“We’re committed to working with our customers to find better ways to use Pilbara ores in a lower-carbon future.”

• KNOW MORE: Rio Tinto Turns to Biochar for Cleaner Aluminum, Targeting 50% Emissions Cut by 2030

A Partnership that Dates Back to 1996

The partnership between the two companies dates back to 1996, when Shougang received its first shipment of Rio Tinto iron ore from Australia’s Pilbara region. Three decades later, the relationship is increasingly focused on how that iron ore can be used in a lower-carbon steel industry.

Shougang Group Vice President Zhu Guosen said:

“Through this collaboration with Rio Tinto on carbon capture technology, Shougang has successfully developed and commissioned a 10,000-tonne-scale industrial trial facility.

“This achievement represents an important milestone for blast furnace decarbonisation and provides valuable demonstration value for reducing emissions in the conventional steelmaking route.

“The project has effectively addressed key challenges associated with carbon reduction in the blast furnace process and serves as an important example of our commitment to China’s dual-carbon goals and the advancement of low-carbon, green development.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to optimise the technology, advance the utilisation of captured carbon resources, and contribute to the green and low-carbon transformation of the steel industry.”

Captured CO₂ Could Be Reused in Steelmaking

The project is focused not only on capturing CO₂ but also on finding ways to use the captured carbon.

Rio Tinto and Shougang are exploring the conversion of captured CO₂ into syngas that could be recycled into the steelmaking process. Such an approach could reduce the amount of new carbon-based inputs required by steelmakers while creating a circular carbon pathway inside the plant.

That could become increasingly important as steelmakers look for ways to decarbonize existing BF-BOF assets without waiting for complete replacement with hydrogen-based direct reduced iron or electric arc furnace technologies.

The Broader Carbon Capture Market

Carbon capture is also becoming a larger commercial market.

• According to Mordor Intelligence, the CCS market size is expected to grow from USD 2.76 billion in 2025 to USD 3.15 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 6.05 billion by 2031 at 13.98% CAGR over 2026-2031.

Other market estimates vary significantly depending on whether they include transportation, utilization, and storage infrastructure.

The growth reflects rising demand for industrial carbon management, particularly in sectors such as steel, cement, chemicals and refining where process emissions can be difficult to eliminate through electrification alone.

Carbon Capture Targets Existing Steel Assets

The Rio Tinto-Shougang project highlights a broader debate over how quickly the global steel industry can move away from conventional blast furnace technology.

Hydrogen-based direct reduced iron and electric arc furnaces offer a potential pathway to much lower-emission steel, but replacing the world’s existing blast furnace fleet would require significant investment, new infrastructure and large amounts of low-carbon electricity or hydrogen.

Carbon capture offers another route by targeting emissions from facilities that are already operating.

The challenge will be cost. Capturing 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually at Jingtang is small compared with the emissions generated by a large integrated steel mill. But the trial could provide data on capture efficiency, energy use, operating costs, and the potential value of using captured CO₂.

For Rio Tinto, the project also extends its role beyond supplying iron ore into technologies that could lower emissions further down the steel value chain.

• READ MORE: Rio Tinto Locks in 30-Year Renewable Power Deal to Decarbonize Pilbara Operations

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Xpansiv has gained a significant investment from Verdane, a European firm. This funding will help the environmental markets infrastructure company expand by making acquisitions, developing new products, and growing internationally. The companies announced the strategic partnership on September 22, 2026. They did not disclose the size of the capital raise.

Xpansiv plans to use the new investment to strengthen its position across carbon credits, renewable energy certificates (RECs), clean fuels, and other environmental commodities. The company also wants to expand into new asset classes and geographic markets.

The deal comes as environmental markets become more complex. Companies are facing wider climate reporting rules, rising carbon prices, and stronger demand for clean energy certificates. For Xpansiv, that creates an opportunity to build the digital infrastructure behind these markets.

Xpansiv Is Building the Rails for Environmental Markets

Xpansiv operates a mix of registries, marketplaces, trading services, data products, and portfolio-management systems. Its platform connects companies, utilities, and traders to carbon credits, RECs, clean fuels, and other environmental products. Verdane says Xpansiv processes about 1 billion transactions each year.

Its registry network now supports more than 320 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generation capacity across more than 60 countries. That represents about 4% of global electricity generation and 7% of renewable energy generation.

Xpansiv also says about 28% of RECs issued globally in 2025 were managed through its registry network. The scale is important because environmental markets depend on more than buyers and sellers.

They also need systems to register assets, issue certificates, verify ownership, track transfers, and record retirement. Xpansiv is trying to bring many of those functions onto one platform.

Acquisitions Drive Xpansiv’s Expansion Strategy

Verdane’s investment will support Xpansiv’s merger and acquisition strategy, which has already become a major part of its growth model. Over the last four years, Xpansiv acquired:

• APX, a provider of energy and environmental registry infrastructure;
• Evolution Markets, a market execution and brokerage business; and
• Evident, which operates the I-REC(E) renewable energy registry.

The strategy is continuing. In September 2026, Xpansiv agreed to acquire Formbay. This Australian platform makes and validates renewable energy certificates for rooftop solar and battery projects.

Formbay supports about 25% of Australia’s Small-scale Technology Certificate market. It creates nearly 100,000 certificates daily and helped with over A$1 billion in transactions in 2025. It also supports about 30,000 retailers and installers and is involved in one in three Australian home solar installations.

The Formbay deal is expected to be Xpansiv’s 13th acquisition since 2017. It remains subject to regulatory approval.

The new Verdane capital could give Xpansiv more room to continue making similar investments.

Carbon Is Just One Piece of the Environmental Markets Puzzle

Xpansiv’s growth strategy extends beyond carbon credits. The CBL exchange trades carbon credits, RECs, and other environmental commodities. Xpansiv Connect links various registries and marketplaces for easy portfolio management.

That broader approach could become increasingly important as companies manage several types of environmental assets at once. For example, a company may need carbon credits for climate targets, renewable energy certificates for electricity claims, and clean fuel credits for transport emissions.

Xpansiv is building infrastructure that can manage these products together. The company also provides market data and execution services through Evolution Markets, giving it a role beyond simply recording transactions.

That could help Xpansiv benefit from the wider growth of environmental markets rather than relying on one asset class.

Carbon Markets Are Attracting More Capital

The timing of the investment is notable because capital flowing into carbon projects and future carbon supply has risen sharply. MSCI estimates that capital in the global carbon credit market hit $22 billion in 2025. This is a 72% increase from 2024 and over five times the amount from 2021.

Offtake agreements, where buyers commit to future carbon credit supply, reached $12.3 billion in 2025, nearly three times the previous year’s level.

Yet, the market remains small compared with long-term climate needs. MSCI estimates the primary global carbon credit market could grow from about $1.4 billion in 2025 to $5–20 billion by 2030 and $60–270 billion by 2050.

That potential growth creates demand for better market infrastructure. As transaction volumes grow, buyers require reliable data. Regulators and companies also need clear records of credit origins and usage.

• RELATED: What Xpansiv’s Latest Investor Update Reveals About the Future of Carbon and Electricity Markets

RECs Add Another Fast-Growing Market

The opportunity extends into renewable energy markets. Xpansiv’s registry network supports over 320 GW of renewable energy. In July 2026, its I-REC registry hit a big milestone by recording its one billionth I-REC redemption.

The I-REC market has expanded tenfold since 2020. Now, over 80,000 organizations in more than 140 countries use I-RECs for buying renewable energy and supporting sustainability programs.

Xpansiv’s North American REC business is also expanding. The company said more than 3 million RECs were traded on its CBL exchange in 2024, up 18% year over year. In January 2025 alone, REC transaction value exceeded $27 million, a monthly record for the exchange.

Corporate clean energy targets, renewable portfolio standards, and rising demand for data centers are driving these markets. Electrification is also a key factor.

AI Could Help Scale Environmental Markets

Technology is another major part of the investment story. Xpansiv says its AI-enabled systems are being used to improve verification, auditability, and workflow management.

Formbay adds another example. Its platform uses AI to validate solar and battery installations and automate certificate creation. These tools can become more valuable as environmental markets grow.

Manual checks become harder when millions of certificates and transactions are involved. Automated data checks can reduce administrative work and help identify errors faster.

That does not remove the need for independent verification or market rules. Instead, digital systems can make those processes easier to manage at scale. For carbon markets, this could be especially useful as companies face growing demands for evidence behind climate claims.

Verdane Brings Climate and Technology Experience

Verdane is a European growth investment firm focused on technology-enabled and sustainable companies. The firm says it has raised €10 billion in capital and made more than 200 investments since 2003. Its team includes more than 180 investment and operating professionals across Europe.

Its investment in Xpansiv fits a broader strategy around companies involved in digitalization and decarbonization.

Verdane said Xpansiv’s market infrastructure could become more important as environmental reporting and compliance requirements widen. The investment also gives Verdane exposure to several markets at the same time, including carbon, renewable energy, and clean fuels.

For Xpansiv, this partnership means more capital and a growth investor. This investor knows how to scale tech platforms in Europe.

A Bigger Bet on Environmental Market Infrastructure

The new investment is important not because of its undisclosed size, but because of what Xpansiv plans to do with it. The company wants to keep buying businesses, enter new markets, and expand its technology platform. That strategy comes as environmental markets become more connected.

Carbon markets are expanding. Renewable energy certificates are becoming more widely used. Clean fuel and methane markets are developing. At the same time, governments are increasing reporting and compliance requirements.

All of these markets need trusted systems for registration, verification, trading, settlement, and data. Xpansiv is betting that one integrated platform can serve more of those needs. The latest Verdane investment provides more capital to continue that expansion.

As the market grows from a relatively small voluntary sector into a broader system linked to corporate reporting, renewable power, and climate regulation, the companies providing the digital rails could become as important as the developers creating the underlying carbon and clean energy assets.

• READ MORE: Xpansiv and BEClimate Launch Platform to Turn Building Upgrades Into Carbon Credits

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