A boost in biochar production
New equipment investments help Biochar in California ramp up to over 250 metric tCO₂e per week.
Just the gist
Short on time? Here’s what you need to know for this update:
🔥 A boost in biochar production — New equipment investments help Biochar in California ramp up to over 250 metric tCO₂e per week!
For more project updates, follow Wren on Twitter and Instagram.
Biochar is a byproduct of pyrolysis that adds carbon to the soil and stabilizes it. Researchers say biochar could store billions of tons of carbon dioxide every year, keeping it out of our atmosphere.
The Wren Climate Portfolio allocates a portion of funds to Biochar in California, backed by Pacific Biochar, led by Josiah Hunt. A few weeks ago, Josiah was a guest on a podcast hosted by Biomass Magazine. You can listen to “Adding Value to Biomass Power Plants with Biochar” for some background before getting into the update:
A boost in biochar production
Back in 2009, when Josiah Hunt first started working with biochar, he was limited in the amount of biochar he could make. Using a more hands-on boutique process, he could produce about 0.75 tons of biochar per week, with carbon removal equivalent to about 2 tCO₂e. While impressive to start, it would have been difficult to scale. To put it into perspective, it would have taken about 50 years for Josiah's team to produce the 1,960 tons of biochar that was recently delivered to a client, thanks to investments in equipment and new facilities.
Now, Biochar in California (Pacific Biochar) is moving 100 tons of biochar (> 250 metric tCO₂e) per week! Now the biochar can be applied to more vineyards and compost to improve quality, conserve water, and perhaps more importantly, remove CO₂ from the air.
Investing in high-quality and disaster-resistant equipment is necessary for the project to continue to do its work throughout obstacles. Despite a series of recent earthquakes and heavy rains, their primary facility in Humboldt remains fully operational and continues to produce biochar.
With your continued support, Biochar in California is able to scale its impact, make more high-quality biochar, and explore new applications that safely store carbon from the atmosphere.
That's all for this update! As always, thank you for your support.
— the Wren team 🧡