A consortium of Canadian and French companies, including Airex Energy, Groupe Rémabec, and SUEZ, are investing C$80 million to construct North America’s largest biochar production facility.

This initiative highlights the growing global recognition of biochar’s potential in carbon sequestration and soil enhancement.

The plant will be located along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Port-Cartier, Quebec, Canada.

The Quebec Biochar Plant: A Major Step in Canada’s Decarbonization Efforts

The Port-Cartier facility is Canada’s first industrial-scale biochar production plant, marking a significant milestone in the country’s net zero efforts.

The first phase of the plant will be finalized in 2024. It will focus on transforming forestry waste into biochar, contributing to a circular economy, and playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change.

With an initial production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year, the plant will triple its annual production capacity by 2026. This makes it the largest biochar plant in North America.

The consortium aims to produce 350,000 tonnes of biochar by 2035.

They have identified locations in Europe and Africa where they can access the input to produce biochar, as well as potential buyers.

The Project’s Impact and Plans

The facility, owned by CARBONITY, a joint venture equally owned by the three partners, will employ 75 people locally. It will produce carbon-rich biochar with high environmental qualities from the residual biomass of Groupe Rémabec’s operations.

The project will sequester 75,000 tonnes of carbon per year.

By sequestering carbon, biochar production will generate guaranteed, certified carbon credits. First Climate will then sell them on the voluntary carbon market.

This project became possible thanks to the financial participation of the Quebec and Canadian governments. A federal official commented on this milestone, the Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for CED, said that:

“Government of Canada has made concrete commitments to demonstrate that a strong economy and a healthy environment go hand-in-hand. That is why Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) is granting a repayable contribution of $3M to CARBONITY for its set-up project in Port-Cartier.”

Biochar: A Powerful Tool for Carbon Sequestration and Soil Enhancement

Biochar is a charcoal-like substance produced from plant matter. It’s created through a process called pyrolysis, where organic material is heated in a high-temperature, low-oxygen environment.

The result is a stable form of carbon that resists decomposition, effectively locking away carbon that would otherwise return to the atmosphere. When added to soil, biochar can significantly improve soil health, enhancing water retention, nutrient availability, and microbial activity. All these lead to increased crop productivity.

Moreover, the production of biochar can generate Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) carbon credits. These credits can be sold or traded, providing an additional revenue stream for biochar producers and incentivizing further carbon sequestration efforts.

Airex earlier this year raised $38M to increase capacity at another Quebec facility that torrefies biomass.

A Shift in the Carbon Credits Market

The construction of the Quebec biochar plant signifies a shift in the carbon credits market. As countries and corporations strive to achieve their carbon neutrality goals, the demand for effective carbon offsetting solutions is growing.

Biochar production offers a tangible, measurable way to offset carbon emissions. The carbon credits generated from this process can attract significant interest from environmentally conscious investors and corporations.

Used as a soil amendment, biochar offers several benefits, including carbon sequestration, increased nutrient retention, and optimized soil aeration and drainage. Its properties allow it to contribute to soil regeneration, limit the use of fertilizers and sustain water resources.

When added to concrete or asphalt formulations, biochar brings new functionalities to the final material while helping to reduce its carbon footprint, a key issue for the construction sector.

Lastly, the production of biochar at high-temperature and with oxygen-free pyrolysis will generate surplus energy in the form of steam or pyrolysis oil, which is reusable on site.

In summary, here are just some of the potential industrial uses of biochar:

Source: Osman et al. (2022). Environ Chem Lett 20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01424-x

The Future of Biochar and Carbon Management

The emergence of North America’s largest biochar plant in Quebec is a milestone in the world’s journey toward sustainable carbon management. It highlights the potential of biochar as a solution for carbon sequestration, waste management, and soil enhancement.

With the establishment of the Port-Cartier facility, the future of biochar and carbon management looks promising. The project shows the potential of biochar in sequestering carbon while setting a precedent for future initiatives in the sector.

As we continue to grapple with the challenges of climate change, such initiatives offer a beacon of hope, showing us that with innovation and commitment, a sustainable future is within our reach.

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Indonesia’s coal emissions in 2022 hit a record high, as per preliminary analysis, which makes the country one of the biggest emitters of carbon from fossil fuels worldwide. 

The data analyzed was from the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), showing that coal consumption in the country is highest ever in 2022 than any year. It jumped by 33%, from 559 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in 2021 to 746 BOE in 2022. 

Highest Ever Growth in Coal Emissions 

As seen in the chart, coal has spiked up with a huge margin in comparison to other energy sources. This increase in coal burning also resulted in skyrocketing greenhouse gas emissions from coal and other fossil fuels. 

According to the Global Carbon Project, the organization that calculated CO2e emissions from Indonesia’s fossil fuel burning, the rise in coal caused the Asian country’s GHG emissions to increase massively by more than 20%.

The top 10 biggest carbon emitters haven’t seen this increase in the last fifteen years, says one senior analyst in the organization. 

Increases in oil and gas, plus coal, emissions bring Indonesia’s total fossil fuel CO2 emissions to 619 million metric tons. 

With these increases, Indonesia will be the world’s 6th-highest fossil polluter in 2022, up from the 9th place in 2021. The top 3 spots go to the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Russia. 

If this trend continues this year, the Southeast Asian nation will hold the 6th spot, for sure. Still, the country’s CO2e footprint per capita (2.7 tonnes) remains lower than that of the United States (15 tonnes). 

Global average for emissions intensity is 7.5 tonnes per capita.

Indonesia is the 3rd-largest coal producer in the world and is a major coal consumer itself. And with new coal plants on the pipeline, the nation’s coal consumption will grow consistently until 2029. 

There’s also not enough intent and action to slow down coal mining in the country, more so decommission the mines. This is amid Indonesia’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2060. 

As per ESDM estimates, the country will produce more coal in 2023, at 694 million tonnes. That’s a 5% increase from the 2022 target of 663 million tonnes. This projection is largely due to the expected high demand from India and China, the country’s major coal export partners. 

Indonesia’s 2022 coal sales to Europe also reached historical highs. This is largely due to a shift to coal among European utilities prompted by high gas prices. The EU embargo on Russian coal because of its conflict with Ukraine enabled Indonesian suppliers to tap the European market. 

Is the Energy Transition Still Possible?

With the growing coal production and its carbon emissions, will Indonesia be able to still reach its energy transition targets?

The answer to this question is crucial as experts said that it significantly impacts the 1.5°C global temperatures threshold. After all, the Southeast Asian largest economy is one of the world’s largest emitters.

The country inked a landmark deal last year called the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in which developed nations (G7) will invest $20 billion in Indonesia to help it ramp up transition to renewable energy. 

This historic agreement will allow the country to limit power sector sectors to 29 million Mt by 2030. But this will be possible if Indonesian coal-fired power plants are retired and new projects are frozen. 

Adding more coal plants is part of President Joko Widodo’s flagship program to add 35 gigawatts to Indonesia’s national grid. The program calls for building hundreds of different kinds of power plants but most of the increase in capacity will be from coal-fired plants. 

One more major factor driving coal production up is the growing demand in the metals industry, particularly the nickel sector.

Complementing the Soaring Demand for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel, a key element used in making lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.

The current administration wants to make the country an EV powerhouse. That means relying on Indonesia’s abundant nickel reserves, whose production also increased by 60% last year. 

Given that the nation’s power grid is largely run by coal (43%) and mining nickel is highly carbon intensive, it contributes largely to the rise in coal production and emissions. 

Moreover, the carbon per KwH of power generation in Indonesia is so much more than most other nickel producers. For example, comparing it to Canada, the Asian country will produce about 9x as much carbon per KwH of electricity.

Processing nickel requires smelters which are powered by coal-fired electricity plants, a.k.a. captive plants. New smelters were built in 2017 and started operations in 2019.

Unfortunately, retiring or replacing these plants are difficult; it needs investments in new infrastructure. And shutting them down means halting the smelters critical for processing battery-grade nickel. 

With that, it seems that Indonesia’s best hope to achieve its climate targets in the power sector is to stop building new fossil fuel plants and rather invest in renewable energy infrastructure. 

Last month, a group of global experts, Coal to Clean Credit Initiative (CCCI), announced they are developing a world-first “coal-to-clean” carbon credit program that incentivizes the transition away from coal-fired power plants to renewable energy in emerging economies.

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The Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative (VCMI) launched its Claims Code of Practice which aims to give companies a rulebook to follow for making credible climate claims using carbon credits on their path to net zero. 

VCMI first published the draft of the Claims Code in June last year. Since then, it went through beta testing by companies and rigorous consultations, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. 

A wide range of nonprofits, international organizations, companies, governments, and industry groups supported VCMI. Climate experts worldwide find the Code a welcome step forward for the VCM after it receives massive criticism. 

VCMI’s Claims Code promotes the use of the “contribution claims” model in financing climate actions through carbon credits. This approach builds market integrity and confidence in VCM as asserted by Rachel Kyte, Co-Chair of VCMI’s Steering Committee saying:

“Voluntary carbon markets bring considerable benefits as part of companies’ net-zero transition and as a means of financing climate transition worldwide… The Claims Code will give greater confidence and develop trust in those who use it. If you build integrity, trust will follow, and trust is the foundation of a high value, high impact market.”

The Code’s 3 Tiers of Corporate Claims

From the provisional bronze, silver, and gold, the final claim tiers or levels are now Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each of them acknowledges investment in emission reductions and removals beyond corporate action to reach their net zero goals. 

Not all that glitters is gold because Platinum, not Gold, is the best available level for companies to claim. 

The chart shows the respective thresholds for each tier, representing the number of carbon credits retired (carbon emission reductions claimed). This is proportional to the remaining emissions in the year when a company makes a claim. Remaining emissions are emissions that remain in a given year as a company progresses towards its near and long-term targets.

VMCI will provide further guidance on this, particularly on the Measurement, Reporting, and Assurance (MRA) framework, additional claim tiers and claim names, in November 2023.

Making a VCMI Claim

To make a VCMI Claim, a company should go through these four steps:

Comply with VCMI’s Foundational Criteria
Choose which VCMI Claim to make from the 3 tiers
Buy carbon credits that meet quality thresholds – ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles (CCP)
Disclose information and get 3rd-party assurance following the VCMI MRA Framework

In finalizing the Claims Code, the VCMI has been working with other major initiatives that drive corporate climate action. These include the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM), Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). 

A Code for High-Integrity Carbon Credit Market

When used with integrity, VCMs can accelerate climate mitigation and contribute significantly to the Paris Agreement goals and UN SDGs.

Thousands of companies are investing in the VCM to tackle their carbon emissions through high-quality carbon credits. Thus, it’s critical that the market has clear and transparent guidance on how to make voluntary use of carbon credits as part of their climate goals. 

VCMI Claims Code provides that guidance and more to prevent abusive use of carbon credits, e.g. greenwashing. It will bring integrity to the VCM and make it a powerful tool to get the world to net zero.

Allister Furey, CEO and co-founder of Sylvera commented on the launch of the Claims Code:

“The VCMI’s guidance is a solid step forward for resolving confusion and uncertainty around what claims companies can make about their climate action, and for overall climate action transparency with the inclusion of comprehensive requirements to disclose credit use.” 

The publication of this code of practice is indeed crucial in helping companies channel climate finance to credible climate action. But others also said that much more still needs to be done and carbon credits are not a silver bullet. There are other ways to invest in climate action.

Yet, the Code is a good starting point for entities looking to voluntarily use carbon credits toward their climate goals. By using it, companies can demonstrate their climate leadership, address reputation risks, and be ready to position themselves in a low-carbon transition.  

Ultimately, when paired with ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles that guide the supply side of the market, VCMI’s Claims Code of Practice brings “end-to-end” integrity that allows for critical market development.

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A plastic-eating enzyme by Australian recycling startup Samsara Eco found its way into the fashion industry through clothing giant Lululemon. 

Lululemon teamed up with the startup and held a minority stake in it, though the amount wasn’t revealed. This multi-year collaboration marks the Canadian athletic wear company’s first investment in a recycling company. 

More notably, it represents the fashion industry’s commitment to promoting new approaches that emit less carbon and recycle old textiles. 

Why Recycle Plastic in Textiles?

The fashion industry’s emissions account for about 10% of annual global carbon emissions, and that will increase by 50% by 2030. The industry is also using tons of plastic-derived textiles from petroleum.

Around 70% of the materials used in making apparel such as pants, skirts, jackets, and other clothes contain plastic, be it polyester, nylon, spandex, or acrylic. 

Unfortunately, very little of these plastic-derived materials go to recycling facilities. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15% of them are recycled.

As much as 87% of discarded textiles, which are 90% reusable and recyclable, end up in landfills or incinerators. And demand for apparel continues to grow, meaning more plastics will be needed to make new clothes. 

That also means the fashion or apparel industry needs more plastic recycling efforts to avoid using virgin plastic materials. 

Currently, there are two major ways for fashion companies like Lululemon to recycle textiles: mechanical and chemical using solvents. Both options are problematic because the former approach doesn’t allow the recovered plastics to be recycled several times while the latter often uses too much energy.

This is what Samsara Eco, which raised a $37 million Series A round, addresses with its innovative enzymatic approach.

Samsara Eco’s Infinite Recycling Tech

Samsara Eco uses enzymes that can attack complex plastics (polymers) and revert them back to their original chemical composition (monomers). This is what makes the startup’s recycling technology infinite. 

It can make new, virgin-grade plastics without the need to use fossil fuels again. Plus, it also uses less heat to break down the textiles more efficiently, as per Paul Riley, Samsara Eco’s CEO. He further explained their company’s plastic recycling process using the enzyme:

“Our process can handle hard-to-recycle plastics, contaminated plastics, mixed plastics and plastics containing additives (like colors) again and again, and now textiles in a low-heat environment that is carbon neutral.”

Samsara Eco Plastic Recycling Process

Riley added that their enzymatic recycling technology can produce virgin-like plastics without trading off the environment. It has a low carbon emission and doesn’t need high temperatures to break down plastic waste.

Putting that in context, the enviro-tech startup can stop releasing 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually. 

This matters a lot because manufacturing virgin plastics made from fossil fuels significantly contributes to global warming. And projections show that by 2050, the plastics sector will consume 15% of the carbon budget.

Samsara Eco aims to recycle 1.5 million metric tons of plastic each year by 2030. Right now, the world produces about 391 million metric tons of plastic a year and has a total of 8.3 billion tons of plastic waste.

Samsara Eco’s partnership with Lululemon will make the startup the first to infinitely recycle nylon and polyester. Together, these plastic materials comprise about 60% of apparel manufactured. 

Using the startup’s plastic recycling enzyme technology, Lululemon seeks to repurpose nylon and polyester blends from old apparel to make new collections. Voicing the fashion brand’s concern with plastic, especially nylon, Yogendra Dandapure of Lululemon said:

“Nylon remains our biggest opportunity to achieve our 2030 sustainable product goals. Through Samsara Eco’s patented enzymatic process, we’re advancing transforming apparel waste into high-quality nylon and polyester, which will help us live into our end-to-end vision of circularity.”

Other Textile Recycling Technologies

Scientists have been working on finding the most cost-effective ways to break down plastics for decades, particularly polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Collaborative efforts and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) help ramp up practical applications of plastic-eating enzymes. 

A different team discovered a natural enzyme PETase that’s capable of degrading PET plastic while modifying it using machine learning. They called it FAST-PETase – functional, active, stable, and tolerant PETase.

Another startup, Circ, has also developed a unique hydrothermal processing technology for recycling blended textiles, like polyester-cotton blends. The Circ system uses hot water, pressure, and chemical solvents to recycle both materials, recovering 90% of the waste textile.

A Connecticut-based company, Protein Evolution, is also developing a similar enzymatic approach for recycling plastics. They turn leftover nylon and polyester from used textiles into materials for new collections.

These companies may also be eligible for earning plastic credits or carbon credits. Each plastic credit is equal to one ton of plastic waste that would otherwise have not been collected or recycled.

Same with other circular economy approaches, Samsara Eco needs more years to scale up and commercialize its technology. But the kind of support from clothing giants and popular fashion brands like Lululemon is a great milestone. 

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