Biochar - Game changer for climate and development
Biochar is becoming the new hype about climate protection. Last year, everyone was talking about hydrogen, now they want to know if biochar solves all the problems. No and yes, it has great potential and “kills many birds with one stone”: climate protection, sustainable development, nutrition and biodiversity.
Climate protection vs. economy
Wind and solar energy, more gas instead of coal, e-mobility, green hydrogen, carbon capture, planting trees and sustainable agriculture. It is slowly becoming clear that we will need all the pieces of the puzzle to get a handle on the climate problem. But why is it taking so long? We already had the first environmental conference in Stockholm in 1972, the Rio conference in 1992 and Rio+20 in 2012. The climate problem was always at the table, but so was the demand from low-income countries that their standard of living rise. This requires resources, especially energy, about 80% of which still comes from fossil sources and causes CO2.
Climate protection and economic progress do not seem to be compatible. At the very least, it will take several more years of research, development, international cooperation, and appropriate legislation to reconcile the two. This is where biochar comes into play. It is a peace offering from the economy to climate protection – not for all problems, but for some.
From waste to raw material
Biochar is obtained from biological waste, e.g., coconut shells from agriculture or tree residues that the timber industry does not need. This can be done in a straightforward way with a hole in the ground or in a kettle grill. Larger quantities are produced in industrial plants that produce not only biochar but also electricity and heat. CO2 certificates are another benefit. If you would like to know more or are interested in a plant, please contact us. In Europe, this is already possible in some cases from around 350-700 hectares of forest.
This is how waste becomes a raw material because biochar can be used in many ways: as an additive in the production of building materials such as concrete or asphalt, as a feed additive to improve the stable climate for cows, or as a soil conditioner, as we produce it at betterSoil. We collect biological waste and produce biochar. The waste would otherwise rot in a landfill and pollute the groundwater or be burned and fuel climate change.
A booster for economy and CO2 removal
We combine the biochar with compost to produce our betterSoil booster. The booster improves the soil and promotes humus formation. In the process, even more CO2 is pulled out of the air and farmers' harvests increase. Because better soil brings other benefits, including water management and biodiversity, a total of 14 of 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are promoted.
Since biochar hardly degrades in the ground, it is stable for several hundred years. Depending on the quality of the biochar, it can even last 1,000 years. So, biochar put into the ground is a real storage of carbon, a real removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. The measurement is simple: each ton of biochar (almost pure carbon) is equivalent to 3.6 tons of CO2, which was previously in the air. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, estimates the potential of biochar at 0.3 - 6 billion tons of CO2 per year. At 6 billion tons, that would be about 12.5% of current global greenhouse gas emissions.
Biochar for sustainability in companies
Biochar is primarily a lever for further CO2 storage in the soil. Humus-rich soils can store between 2-25 additional tons of CO2 per hectare annually. The other effects for more sustainability are harder to measure. However, as the world population rises to 10 billion in 2050, we urgently need more food, especially on soils that are poorly managed today. In addition, a large part of biodiversity is contained in the soil. This must be protected.
For companies, biochar offers the opportunity to promote reliable CO2 removal. At the same time, the company is clearly positioning itself in the direction of sustainability.