Pure Data Centres invests £24m in UK’s largest biochar facility
Aligning environmental innovation with hyperscale data infrastructure growth and commercial opportunity
Pure Data Centres Group (Pure DC), the designer, developer, and operator of sustainable hyperscale cloud and AI data-centres, today announced a £24 million investment to build the UK’s largest biochar* carbon-removal facility in Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire.
Pure DC’s investment has been endorsed by the UK Government across DSIT and DESNZ. Minister for Energy for DESNZ, Michael Shanks MP, said, “This investment is an excellent example of industry stepping up to pioneer innovative climate solutions.
“Greenhouse gas removal technologies, including biochar, will play an important role in us meeting our net zero ambitions, helping industry to decarbonise whilst delivering economic opportunities such as the new, high-quality jobs in Wiltshire that this facility will create.”
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for AI and Online Safety) for the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology, Kanishka Narayan MP said, “Data centres power growth and innovation, from NHS digital services and online payments to the AI tools people use at work. Part of being an AI leader means backing new ways to drive progress responsibly and sustainably.
“This investment in Wiltshire shows how companies are turning to the UK to help shift the dial – deploying carbon removal technology to deliver cleaner, greener innovations. It shows how AI leadership and a climate-conscious approach to innovation aren’t competing ideals, but two sides of the same coin.”
According to CDR.fyi**, in Q2 2025 alone, 15.48 million tonnes of CDR contracts were signed, more than all prior quarters combined. Microsoft alone accounted for 14.6 million tonnes (94% of that quarter’s total) via multiple large-scale purchases. In the biochar sector specifically, companies have contracted over 3.04 million tonnes of biochar removal credits between 2022 and mid-2025 with over half that total (1.6 million tonnes) contracted in the first six months of 2025.
PureBiochar demonstrates Pure DC’s sustainable digital infrastructure strategy – aligning its carbon-removal initiatives with the sustainability goals of large-scale users of data-centres. By integrating this capability within its platform, Pure DC can directly support the sustainability priorities of hyperscale clients while reinforcing its position as one of the world’s most forward-looking data-centre developers.
"At Pure DC we’re constantly looking for the overlap between delivering environmentally responsible digital infrastructure, and outsized commercial opportunity.
In biochar we’ve hit a sweet spot in being able to support the sustainability requirements of our hyperscale customers; further differentiating our platform; and having expertise and production capabilities in a fast-growing complementary market where demand far outstrips supply.”
“Leading tech firms are already contracting millions of tonnes of biochar annually. By building this capability, Pure DC is well placed to meet that demand, leverage existing customer relationships, and generate value for our platform. The PureBiochar facility will create credible, science-based carbon removal solutions, which global businesses can rely on.”
At full capacity, the PureBiochar facility will produce 11,500 tonnes of biochar each year, removing up to 18,500 tonnes of carbon – equivalent to the annual emissions of almost 6,000 UK homes. The site, operated by A Healthier Earth (AHE), Pure DC’s climate-tech subsidiary, has begun phase 1 of the programme, which includes equipment commissioning and site readiness. Biochar production will start later this month (November 2025) with subsequent, phased investments, subject to planning and permitting approvals.
"Projects like this show how industrial infrastructure can operate in harmony with community and environmental goals.
The data-centre sector has the scale, capability and incentive to pioneer carbon-removal solutions that work, and this project is proof that climate action and commercial growth can move forward together.”
Locally, the PureBiochar facility will create new green-technology jobs and specialist training opportunities. It will regenerate a brownfield industrial site, returning it to productive and sustainable use. It will also support local Net Zero targets through circular-economy reuse of local waste materials such as joinery offcuts and garden waste.
Acting as a hub for low-carbon innovation, the facility will link local suppliers, universities and communities to one of the UK’s most progressive climate-technology initiatives. The facility will meet European Biochar Certificate (EBC) standards with excess heat from production generating electricity to help power the site.