Climate Tech and Biochar Company Re-Vi Appoints Leading Nature Finance Specialist as CEO

Re-Vi, the Australian company behind one of the biggest biochar and carbon removal projects in the world, on Kangaroo Island, has announced the appointment of Radha Kuppalli as its CEO.

Ms Kuppalli is an executive with deep operational and investment experience in forestry and carbon markets, who serves as a board director of Greening Australia and Accounting for Nature and sits on the Australian Government’s Nature Finance Council. 

She has spent more than 20 years executing investment solutions to address climate change, nature restoration, and sustainable land management.

Ms Kuppalli says she is excited to grow the Re-Vi business.

“Re-Vi is developing institutional scale biochar projects that revitalise landscapes. There are opportunities across Australia to undertake landscape restoration at scale, enabled by biochar and climate finance.

“Throughout my career I have worked on building new markets and investment models that create positive environmental and community outcomes. Re-Vi’s first project on Kangaroo Island will put Australia on the map globally in terms of biochar production and carbon removals.”

In its world-leading project on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, Re-Vi is transforming over 15,000 hectares of fire damaged timber plantations into biochar, a form of charcoal that is highly stable and carbon-rich, with numerous agricultural and industrial applications. 

With its significant stability and durability, biochar locks up carbon dioxide that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere, making it a sought-after carbon removal technology essential for meeting net zero emissions targets.

Ms Kuppalli says the Kangaroo Island biochar project will benefit a wide range of stakeholders, including investment and jobs for the Kangaroo Island community and more broadly throughout the country by providing biochar to Australian farmers to improve their soils and productivity.

“We also expect to produce two million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Removal credits that will be sold to the world’s leading companies. We’ve had strong interest from major companies who see biochar-based credits as a high- quality pathway to meeting their net zero ambitions.

“Re-Vi’s investment will help the people, fauna, and flora of Kangaroo Island to recover from the 2020 bushfires and create new jobs and opportunities.”

Kangaroo Island councillors visited  the biochar facility on 4 March as part of  a tour of key infrastructure and community project sites.

The visit allowed members to see essential works in action, including roadside vegetation management, new culvert installations, and comparisons of different road materials and maintenance techniques.

Mayor Michael Pengilly highlighted the positive economic impact of the Biochar project.

“This initiative is not only an environmental game-changer but a significant boost for our local economy. With 70 jobs already created, the project is bringing real benefits to Kangaroo Island, particularly the western end of the Island, and will continue to drive new opportunities.”

Re-Vi’s major shareholder, Kiland Limited, owns the land and fire-damaged timber plantations on Kangaroo Island and is supplying the fire-damaged timber to Re-Vi as it clears the land. 

Kiland is in the process of returning the impacted land to a productive agricultural estate.

The Chairman of both Re-Vi and Kiland, James Davies, says the biochar project is an innovative solution for helping Kangaroo Island recover from the devastating 2020 bushfires and return the land to productive use. 

He says Ms Kuppalli has been brought on as a seasoned executive to drive the Re-Vi business forward.

“Radha not only has deep expertise in carbon markets and land management, but she has a proven track record of building businesses and delivering capital at scale to innovative investment strategies related to climate and nature. 

“She has built a strong reputation in Australia and internationally as someone who is deeply committed to positive environmental outcomes alongside executing commercially successful businesses.”

Re-Vi’s Kangaroo Island biochar project is in the commissioning stage, with full production scheduled to start by mid-year.

Re-Vi CEO_Radha Kuppalli.