We are the European Biochar Industry Consortium
In September 2019 some of the leading players in the young European biochar industry formed the European Biochar Industry Consortium as a non-profit organization in order to promote and support the European biochar industry and its general, non-material and economic interests with the aim of developing the European biochar industry into an important industry sector and making a significant contribution to fight climate change.
Our Key Activities
Biochar is an exceptional material with enormous potential. Over the last few years there was huge progress in the field of biochar, both in science and in industry. Overall interest in biochar is increasing and the market is growing fast. But still, compared to its potential, biochar is highly underrepresented in the overall awareness. Therefore EBI is focussing on the following key activities:
Policy
Support/ initiate adaptation of legal regulations regarding production and usage of biochar
Market Intelligence
Provide relevant market information for members and for publications
Communication
Increase the level of awareness of biochar and its commercial and environmental benefits
Industry Standards
Develop and establish scientifically sound standards for biochar for different applications in industry (based on EBC)
Board of Directors
Hansjörg Lerchenmüller
- 20+ years experience in high-technology management
- Multiple entrepreneur (clean tech start-ups)
- Awarded “Deutscher
Umweltpreis” in 2012 - 2012 – 2016 Chairman of the CPV Consortium
Helmut Gerber
PYREG GmbH
- 20+ years entrepreneurial & scientific experience in pyrolysis & gasification
- Inventors Award State of Rheinland-Pfalz 2006 & 2010
- N-TV Energy Awards 2014 Nominee
Marcel Huber
SynCraft GmbH
- 20+ years entrepreneurial & scientific experience in pyrolysis & gasification
- Inventor of the staged, floating-fixed bed gasification technology
- Previously head of researcharea renewable energy at MCI Innsbruck
Paal Jahre Nilsen
VOW/ETIA
- 30+ years scientific experience
- 10+ years in biogas process development, biorenewables product development
- development of advanced waste management and pyrolysis systems
Head of Office
Harald Bier
- Geographer with a Master in Humanitarian Action
- 10 years of experience with biochar and soil stabilization projects
- Development and implementation of large-scale international programs
- Development of adapted “Terra Preta” Techniques, WHH Innovation Price 2013
- Communications and Campaigning
- Advocacy for Agroecology and biochar
EU-Policy Officer
Thomas Hämmerle
- Enviornmental and process engineer
- 5 years of experience with biochar and thermo-chemical conversion techniques
- Development and implementation of sustainability projects
- Recipient of the Tyrolean Science Fund for outstanding young scientists
- Communications and Campaigning
- Advocacy for climate protection
Members of the Industry Consortium
In the heart of the Alps, the experts of Alpenkohle fulfill with passion the needs of their customers. In close cooperation with science, we develop customized biochar solutions for your special application. Developing, introducing and anchoring sustainable premium barbecue charcoal in the European market was the first success story, to meet our customers demand and deliver a high-quality product. Nowadays, our biochar solutions cover the needs of agriculture, energy and other industry sectors. If you are looking for a partner with handshake quality, premium products, experts with passion, get in touch with us and fulfill your customer desires for climate positive solutions.
Based in Helsinki, Carbo Culture was founded in 2017 on the idea that biochar could be a game-changing carbon removal technique. We built on research from the University of Hawaii and developed our Carbolysis™ approach, which is optimized to scale carbon removal, generate more energy in the form of heat, and remove bio-oils from the process. The result is a biochar that is high in carbon, permanent, and versatile for many applications. With fighting climate change as our main priority, we are taking a proactive approach on developing biochar applications, like soil amendments and building materials, that guarantee the carbon remains sequestered for hundreds to thousands of years.
Carbofex has proven biochar technology which has been in production since 2017, and captured over 5000 tons of CO2 to date. This is done by providing the technology and know-how to industrial and agricultural operators and partners. Benefits of biochar are widely acknowledged. Carbofex’s solution has been and is the industry benchmark in biochar quality carbon content and CO2 capture efficiency. Carbofex technology can us various biomasses based on the available data and chemical content. Our ultimate goal is to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, improve food production, help in waste management globally and locally and capture GHG – so our actions prevents and reverses damages already caused.
Soler Group, based in Gyé-sur-Seine is a French pioneer in the cogeneration of renewable carbon and electricity and as such is a reference in sustainable wood carbonisation. We produce biochar from wood that is not used by traditional industries, supplied by sustainably managed French forests close to our production site. The use of local, traceable wood is a core value of our circular and sustainable approach. To ensure our supply chain is completely transparent we have been members of the EARTHWORM foundation since 2014. Thanks to their field monitoring and supply chain validation we can guarantee sustainable biochar production. With our world leading technology, standardised and controlled production process we are able to guarantee a very consistent, high quality product.
Carbonfuture provides a platform for end-to-end documentation, verification and certification of carbon sinks. We focus on carbon preserving applications of biochar adhering to the EBC-sink guidelines and we issue and trade the respective C-sink credits. We are already working with several innovative and frontrunning producers and users of certified biochar and we are constantly onboarding more of them. As a platform provider, we offer a wide range of services also beyond financing and trading C-sink credits. This includes documentation of C-sinks for companies who want to claim the credits themselves rather than selling them, e.g., in their own sustainability reporting. We are selling C-sink credits to individuals, companies and institutions guaranteeing carbon storage over 100 years minimum, and the prevention of double counting.
Carbon Standards International develops standards, strategies and system solutions for climate-neutral agriculture and industry. With our standards and guidelines, we and our partners audit and certify your valuable climate performance. You can use our tools to analyse and improve your own carbon cycles. Our climate certificates enable you to obtain financial recognition for your climate services from third parties. Our European Biochar Certificate (EBC) guidelines cover scientifically recognised methods for the production, processing and use of biochar in agriculture, forestry and industry and their upstream and downstream sectors. We are seeing a steady expansion of the areas in which biochar and biochar-based products are used. The EBC guidelines enable production, processing and use to meet the most up-to-date scientific standards.
Carbuna AG, based in Memmingen, Germany, is a specialist and pioneer for developing and producing enhanced biochar products, as organic and sustainable fertilizer and multi-purpose solutions for farmers that naturally stores carbon in the soil and thus mitigates global warming. The products contain a perfectly adjusted combination of conditioned biochar, selected organic nutrients with amino acids and bio active micro-organisms, which support a sustainable humus enrichment. In addition to solutions for soil improvement, the product range also includes specially developed biochar products for the optimisation of biogas plants and for stable hygiene.
Beton und Asphalt als Klimakiller? War gestern! Wir machen Beton und Asphalt fürs Klima! Kohlenstoffsenke und verbesserte Funktionalität des Baustoffes – eine perfekte Symbiose! Basis unserer Technologie ist ein neues, von uns entwickeltes Additiv, das Clim@Add. Es besteht zu 96% aus technischem Kohlenstoff, welcher ein Produkt eines klimapositiven Energiesystems ist. Unter Einsatz dieses Materials gelingt es uns bereits, bei der Substituierung von 15% Zement durch 15% Clim@Add®CC einen klimapositiven Beton herzustellen. Mit 2% Clim@Add®AC erreichen wir einen klimapositiven Asphalt, der ebenfalls keinerlei Nachteile gegenüber herkömmlich hergestelltem Asphalt aufweist. Unsere Technologie hat das Zeug dazu, die meistverwendeten Baustoffe der Welt von Klimakillern zu Klimarettern zu wandeln. Die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten des Clim@Add® sind vielfältig und werden in sehr vielen Baustoffanwendungen realisierbar sein.
Circular Carbon designs, develops and operates pyrolysis plants for the production of biochar and renewable energy, focusing on the utilization of biogenic residues. The carbonization of these residues generates cost-effective renewable energy. Circular Carbon acts as a contractor and supplies the energy to the companies that provide the residual materials. This creates a profitable circular economy, made possible by a close integration of industrial processes. The energy buyer does not bear any plant or operators’ risk. In Hamburg, Circular Carbon has been operating one of the largest production plants for biochar in Germany since 2022. A local cocoa producer is supplied with steam from the plant, which uses cacao shells as sole feedstock.
EUROFINS Umwelt Ost GmbH in Freiberg is an independent environmental laboratory. In addition to analyses of soil, water, air, waste and fuels, it offers product testing and product certification for wood pellets, wood ash, barbecue coal recovered fuels and biochar. It certifies the quality of these products for manufacturers by means of biochar tests. The services offered by EUROFINS Umwelt Ost include all analyses required for the European Biochar Certificate (EBC) batch certification and for the basic characterisation of biochar. In addition, numerous supplementary parameters such as calorific value, PCB and dioxins can be determined. Regular participation in round robin tests ensures the quality of the investigations.
EGoS produces PremiumPlus BIO quality biochar, approved for organic farming. It is ground into 3 different granulations and enriched with EM-a, effective microorganisms. Biochar is an all-rounder in agriculture, as feed additive as well as in the garden and in compost. Premium rock meals such as bentonite, diabase rock meal, diatomaceous earth, humic acid beads and zeolite for feed purposes, biogas, poultry farming and garden/compost are part of our production and delivery program.
Founded in 1989, ETIA ecotechnologies designs and provides innovative thermal technologies for food industry, biomass residues and waste. For the last 20 years, ETIA has developed Biogreen continuous pyrolysis process based on a patented and proprietary electrically heated screw conveyor (Spirajoule®). Biogreen is one of the leading pyrolysis technology to turn any biomass residue or plastic waste into valuable product, chemicals and energy, with a unique control of temperature (up to 1000°C) and residence time that guarantees a constant quality of product obtained from the treatment. Half of the 40 operational Biogreen units worldwide are dedicated to the conversion of biomass for the production of biochar, bio-oil and syngas. In October 2019, ETIA and the Norwegian based engineering company Scanship have decided to join forces to create the VOW group, representing in 2019 a combined turnover of 44 M € for 135 employees.
NAWARO ENERGIE Betrieb GmbH, based in Zwettl, is one of the largest producers of green electricity in Lower Austria. Every year about 30.000 households are being supplied with electricity from biomass power plants at the three sites in Altweitra, Rastenfeld and Göpfritz. NAWARO and its team are dedicated to three core values: reliability, sustainability and regionality. With this in mind, there is a focus on improving the Austrian renewable energy system via investments in new research and building projects.
Novocarbo is a leading manufacturer, marketer and refiner of biochar. Novocarbo understands itself as a cleantech company with the mandate of CO2 sequestration and therfore invests intensively in applied research. The biochar products are primarily used by agricultural and landscaping companies for soil improvement, stable hygiene, animal feed and biodigester efficiency. Furthermore, Novocarbo develops own circular economy projects with industrial clients and refines biochar to new materials, that help reduce the carbon footprint. Next to its production site in Dörth, Novocarbo holds an head office in Hamburg working internationally with a focus on Europe.
PYREG GmbH is an industry leading German manufacturer of machines for carbonizing organic waste (biomass, sewage sludge, etc.) into CO2-binding premium biochar while generating renewable energy. The NetZero Tech company and pioneer in the field of CO2 removal (CDR) was founded in 2009 as university spin-off and has already won numerous awards. All PYREG's 50+ plants commissioned worldwide sequester a total of 30,000 tons of CO2 per year. In April 2022, PYREG founded its US subsidiary in Portland (Maine) - establishing both sales and technical service support for this growing market segment.
PyroCore is an innovative Belgian - UK player, who supports its clients in a sustainable - CSR approach by offering an evolutive solution transforming different waste streams into recoverable products and energy with the purpose to obtain a low-carbon and circular economy. The core of the solution, the Phoenix™, creates environmentally responsible and sustainable value chains through for example the generation of biochar from biomass and the recovery of energy that is generated in the process. However, you plan to use this energy, the Phoenix™ offers financial savings substituting fossil fuel consumption, and a sustained revenue from the sale of the biochar.
Rouge H2 Engineering (RGH2) provides solutions and platforms to produce renewable hydrogen from biomass and utilize the by-product biochar for additional carbon removal. We believe that in the race to zero emission, an independent, resilient, renewable, all-weather, carbon negative hydrogen source should be the top priority to be utilized in climate-neutral carbon-neutral smart cities. RGH2’s innovative on-site on-demand hydrogen generation system, integrated with a biomass gasification system, enables the supply of affordable renewable hydrogen and high quality biochar to be produced locally. RGH2 is delighted to be a member of EBI, and would like to work with EBI members to support the development of biochar applications and to help countries and cities win the race against the climate emergency!
Südwestdeutsche Salzwerke AG, with its head office in Heilbronn, Germany; is one of the largest salt producers (sodium chloride) in Europe and operates at four locations in business segments: salt, waste management, logistics and tourism. The salt is extracted from the mines in Heilbronn and Berchtesgaden and from the brine deposits in the Bad Reichenhaller basin. The salt is then processed and refined to produce evaporated salt at the saltworks Bad Friedrichshall and Bad Reichenhall for various purposes. Bad Reichenhaller AlpenSalz stands for high-quality salt from the depths of the Alps. With de-icing rock salt from Heilbronn, road safety and winter-maintenance in Germany and Europe is ensured. The chemical industry receives high-purity rock salt for the chlor-alkali process!
Skånefrö produces not only top-quality seeds, but also biochar, along with providing district heating. Environmentally friendly heating pellets, produced from the remains of meticulous seed cleaning, are pyrolyzed in plants from Pyreg, for whom Skånefrö acts as both a reference site and a commercial agent. The syngas is burned for district heating and the EBC-certified biochar is returned to the fields as a soil enhancer and carbon sink. Through a collaboration with the associated company Ecoera, the ownership of the carbon removal is sold to various customers together with a certificate (CORC) linked to the audit trail. This proves the ownership of the carbon dioxide equivalents, in the form of biochar carbon captured in Swedish soils.
Sonnenerde GmbH was one of the first European companies to produce biochar from organic wastes. Since the year 2012, a production plant from Pyreg was under continuous operation in Eastern Austria. This project was awarded with the national Climate Mitigation Award from the Austrian Ministry for Environment. Based on this experience of the last 10 years, Sonnenerde developed an improved biochar production plant together with the partners NGE (www.nge.at) and Jumbo (www.jumbo-group.de), which will be installed in the year 2022/23 and will produce around 2.000 tonnes of biochar per year. The new plant will allow a very economical usage of excess heat in a sewage sludge dryer, which will act as well as off-gas cleaning system for the pyrolysis process.
Stiesdal develops high-impact solutions to climate change. The company addresses renewable energy supply, energy security, sector-wide implementation, and atmospheric clean-up. Stiesdal operates four subsidiaries, each with a focus on their own green technology: Stiesdal Offshore has developed the modular floating offshore wind turbine foundation Tetra. Stiesdal Storage has developed the energy storage solution GridScale, which can store electricity in the form of heat in crushed stone. Stiesdal Hydrogen has developed the hydrogen technology HydroGen, which is a new type of low-cost electrolysis system. Stiesdal SkyClean has developed the pyrolysis based SkyClean technology for green fuel production and biochar CO2 capture and storage.
For 10 years, SYNCRAFT has been producing climate-positive wood power plants in Tyrol. Currently four different personalizable wood power plant models are offered. SYNCRAFT's engineering team personally takes care of the overall planning, construction and ongoing maintenance of the plant. In these so-called reverse power plants, carbon dioxide remains within the production cycle thanks to the production of biochar and, instead of further polluting our environment, is thereby used positively. The wood power plants sequester the carbon dioxide, which is already in our atmosphere, hence they are also ‚reverse’. The simultaneous provision of sustainable, renewable energy and the storage of CO2 through the sensible use of biochar is what makes SYNCRAFT's wood power plants special: They close the circle without releasing climate-damaging gases into the environment.
AquaGreen
AquaGreen provides unique fully automated and continuous solutions for drying and pyrolysis of wet biomass, such as sewage sludge and biogas digestate.
bio.inspecta
bio.inspecta / q.inspecta is the independent inspection and certification service provider for EBC. We support biochar operators to develop sustainably and strengthen their market position.
Biocarbo
We want to create CO² storage via plants, humus and high-quality carbon creating the perfect match for every soil. Living soil and a better harvest for farmers are our main goals.
BISON FOREST
BISON FOREST lives for reforestation, forest restoration and climate sink economy. We provide independent and cross-regional services and solution modules to mitigate climate change consequences by advanced value chains.
Carbo-FORCE
Carbo-FORCE offers innovative plant technology for the production of biochar and energy. The Carbo-CAP-TEC process converts a wide range of organic residues into valuable materials in a thermal-chemical process using patented technology.
Carboganic
CARBOGANIC customizes biocarbon fibers and fillers to enhance thermoplastic and thermoset applications. Additionally, our biocarbon additives contribute to the decarbonization of manufacturing processes by creating a carbon sink.
carbonauten
carbonauten produces specified biocarbons decentrally from various biomass residues and problematic waste in large quantities, high qualities and low prices.
carbon collectors
Die Carbon Collectors schaffen regionale Kohlenstoffsenken unter dem Motto "Kohle Versenken" und verfolgen das Ziel, den Einsatz und das Potential von Pflanzenkohle einer breiten Öffentlichkeit durch medienwirksame Wissenschaftskommunikation zugänglich zu machen.
CARBON REMOVAL PARTNERS
SPECIALIST IN CARBON REMOVAL INVESTMENTS: Supporting Companies working on reversing Climate Change.
CARBONLOOP
“carbon negative” energies producer proposing a decarbonization service for industries, based on renewable energy production and carbon capture (biochar).
CTS - Carbon Technik Schuster
As a system manufacturer, we offer our customers the technology to actively extract CO2 from the atmosphere. In doing so, they produce biochar and regenerative, green energy.
DECARBO
We are engineering experts specialized on pyrolysis systems for the production of high-quality biochar. We find the perfect fit for our clients in industry, communes, and agriculture.
DEMIO
Demio is working to store carbon on a large scale by focusing on simple and reproducible uses of biochar.
ecoLocked
ecoLocked is dedicated to the development of biocarbon-based formulations for climate- and environmentally friendly building materials. We want to make CO2-negative building materials marketable and affordable.
EcoTopic
EcoTopic is the consultancy with passion for biochar. We are navigating producers, users and policymakers through the complexity of biochar and developing new innovative pathways to make the biochar industry grow.
Energiewerk Ilg
Since 2015, electricity, heat and high-quality biochar are generated from untreated biomass at our site in one of the first climate-positive power plants.
EOC Energyocean
EOC distributes and produces biochar, advises on pyrolysis projects, biomass utilisation, CO2/EBC certification and material flow optimisation.
EVAC
Evac is the world’s leading provider of water and waste management systems for marine, offshore, and building industries. Together with our customers and partners we strive for a future with no waste.
EQTEC
EQTEC's proven and proprietary syngas production technology generates safe, clean energy and biofuels from nearly 60 different kinds of feedstock.
First Climate
First Climate initiated one of the world's first programs for monetizing the climate benefits of biochar. Today, we help to register, monitor and sell carbon credits from your project.
Fraunhofer ISE
Das Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE in Freiburg ist das größte Solarforschungsinstitut Europas. Rund 1400 Mitarbeitende arbeiten täglich an einer nachhaltigen Transformation des Energiesystems.
Interholco
Interholco is a certified leading provider of sustainably produced hardwood, whose mission is to turn wood and its co-products into a forest of solutions, for people and planet.
Contact: carbonremoval@interholco.com
Made of Air
Made of Air takes wood waste and transforms it into high-value, carbon-negative compounds. These can be used to turn manufactured goods into engineered carbon sinks.
Mash Makes
Mash Makes has developed a state-of-the-art carbon negative solution that produces energy commodities, valorizes crop residue, sequesters carbon and improves soil quality.
MEVA ENERGY
Our gasification plants generate biochar as a side stream while replacing fossil gas in industrial process heat generation or valorize residue to power and heat.
NGE
Since 2016 NGE is focused on developing pyrolysis units for different organic input materials as an environmentally friendly solution provider according to EBI-standards.
NSR
NSR AB is public waste management company founded in 1982 and is owned by the six northwest Skåne municipalities of Bjuv, Båstad, Helsingborg, Höganäs, Åstorp and Ängelholm. We collect treat and recycle waste for our approximately 266 000 citizens.
RE-CORD
RE-CORD is a private-public nonprofit Research & Development organization that works in the field of renewable energies, biomass, bioenergy and bioeconomy.
Samsun Avdan Energy
Samsun Avdan Energy is an active player in waste to energy market, handling MSW, sewage sludge and green waste from municipalities. We are currently seeking investment opportunities in new environmental technologies like high quality biochar production.
SUEZ
For more than 160 years, SUEZ has been acting to deliver essential services that protect and improve the quality of life, enable its customers to provide access to water and waste services with resilient and innovative solutions, create value over the entire lifecycle of their assets and services, and drive their ecological transition, together with their end-users.
TorrCoal
TorrCoal firmly believes in torrefaction (mild pyrolysis from 270ºC to 350ºC): a process to produce bio-carbon from bio-residuals (forest maintenance wood, demolition wood, SRF, …). Our technology can be used to generate bio-carbon streams to replace fossil carbons for fossil free applications.
Umdasch Group Ventures
We are the future & innovation hub of the multi-national Umdasch Group. We focus on pathbreaking technologies and business models in construction and retail.
Xylergy
Think sustainable and local for our next generations ! Xylergy proposes turnkey plants producing clean & tar-free syngas from natural or recycled wood gasification with its patented NOTAR® technology. One reactor prevents emission of 5400 tons CO2 over one year (according to EU Directive RED II).
National Partner Associations
- Country: Australia
- Promoting Drawdown
- Facilitation of effective use and production of Biochar
- Education, research, collaboration and commercialization
- Country: France
- Country: Germany
- Promoting C-Sequestration
- Klimafarming
- Education, research, collaboration, policy development and advocacy
- Country: Austria
- Promoting bioenergy
- Combined heat and power generation
- Wood gas
- Policy, information, collaboration and research
- Countries: Czech Rep., Slovakia, Poland, Hungary
- Connecting scientific workplaces with other entities
- joint European projects
- Communication / PR
- Biochar marketplace promoting products, ideas and technologies
- Country: Finland
- Promoting biochar research, sustainable production, use and various applications
- Applying science into practice
- Education, research, collaboration and policy
Become a member of the European Biochar Industry Consortium!
Do you want to join our Consortium? EBI is always looking for experts who interested in supporting the development of biochar applications and who are committed to the principles of sustainable production. We are looking for: