Hundreds of biochar industry stakeholders met in Minneapolis in mid-September to explore research, policy and investments in the sector, with a focus on accelerating market adoption, scaling production and expanding biochar applications across industries. Biochar—and biocarbon—as a replacement for coal was a thoroughly discussed topic, with representatives of operating projects sharing their successes and challenges, strategy and what lies ahead. One such company was SDI Biocarbon Solutions, of which Jim Hansen, vice president of environmental sustainability, discussed the motivation behind and launch of its new biocarbon facility located near Columbus, Mississippi.Decarbonizing Steel SDI Biocarbon Solutions is a joint venture between Steel Dynamics and technology provider Aymium. Steel Dynamics is the third largest steel producer in the United States, according to Hansen, with production being entirely electric arc furnace-based. “What that means is we utilize scrap as our raw material,” Hansen explains. “We are the largest North American recycler of metals out there … as we look at our carbon footprint as an industry, that actually put us in a pretty strong position.” Hansen, who has been with Steel Dynamics for nearly 20 years, discussed the company’s solid track record of environmental initiatives, which he said has put the company in a leadership position from a carbon footprint standpoint. “But we also recognize that there’s more that we can do, and there’s more that we should do,” he said. “In 2023, we actually met the goals that we set back in 2021 for our 2025 goals.”&nbsp; Steel Dynamics is on track to be net zero by 2050, according to Hansen. Highlighting the company’s 308-MW Canyon Wind project in west Texas that is currently underway, he said it has significant carbon reduction potential for the company—all of that power will be used at Steel Dynamics operations. “We melt our scrap with electricity, so having a low carbon footprint as it relates to that electricity is important,” Hansen said. “As an organization, we consume about 8 gigawatt hours per year—that’s a lot of electricity.”&nbsp; That usage, Hansen said, led to the biocarbon endeavor. “We see ourselves as a decarbonization leader in the industry … we believe strongly in what biomass and pyrolysis can bring to decarbonization … there are a whole lot of folks out there chasing different technologies that are years and years away—lots of dollars that have to go toward making those things happen. But biocarbon, biomass, biochar—the things that all of you are working on—those things are here, they’re now, and they’re nature-based solutions, so it makes a heck of a lot of sense.” Hansen explained that the biocarbon produced at SDI Biocarbon Solutions will replace anthracite coal used in the steelmaking process. “A lot of the anthracite coal comes from eastern part of the United States, but also offshore, imported from places like Russia and Ukraine,” he said, emphasizing the importance of having a secure supply of biocarbon to feed the company’s steel plants. &nbsp; A $300 million-plus capital investment, the SDI plant is located on 90 acres and is capable of producing upward 200,000 tons of biocarbon annually. Startup is ongoing. “We’re really heavy into the commissioning startup phases and anxious to get to the point of producing our first saleable product,” Hansen said, reiterating that the emission reductions associated with using the biocarbon in lieu of anthracite is significant. “It’s up to a 35% reduction in our Scope 1 emissions,” he said. “And the process really relatively simple. We’re taking southern yellow pine from the local region … chipping that to the appropriate size, drying it and then utilizing biomass pyrolysis to convert it into high-fixed carbon … we’re pelletizing that, and then storing it for shipment to the steel mill, which goes either by truck or by rail.” The finished product may also be shipped to Steel Dynamics mills that aren’t near Mississippi, he added.&nbsp; As far as emissions and environmental control at the plant, the SDI Biocarbon Solutions plant hosts a small water treatment facility for cooling water, fire suppression and other cooling needs within the facility, according to Hansen, in addition to a wet electrostatic precipitator and regenerative thermal oxidizer for pollution control. “It’s state-of-the-art emissions control—all emissions are compliant with a Title V permit.”Construction of the facility is largely complete. “We’re in startup now,” Hansen said. “And really, one of the reasons we’re here [at the conference] is because we’ve got this product that is allocated to steel mills, and we’re understanding that there might be some other opportunities and benefits for this product to go elsewhere. There is just a huge amount of opportunity that’s available here and now.”From Coal to Biochar&nbsp; Cathal Fitzgerald, chairman of Arigna Fuels in Roscomman, Ireland, discussed how the century-old, fifth-generation family business transitioned from its fossil fuel roots to one of the largest biochar producers in the world, and the challenges and opportunities that have come with it. &nbsp; Arigna was historically focused on coal, founded as a mining company extracting coal for power generation. &nbsp;“We didn’t set out to make biochar,” he said. “We just arrived at the conclusion that biochar was the most suitable material to help in the transition from fossil fuels.”&nbsp; Today, the company can produce 70,000 tons of biochar annually, has four distribution units, 75 employees and sees approximately $180 million in revenue. &nbsp; As for its backstory, in the late 1980s, Arigna realized that smokey coal was going to be phased out and thus began manufacturing smokeless coal for the U.K. and Irish markets. “In 2010, we actually began to reverse-engineer smokey coal,” Fitgerald said. “We were looking for a sustainable product that had all the attributes of coal—its calorific value, cost, and even look and feel. And that’s how we landed on biochar.” In 2012, Arigna purchased a 7,000-metric-ton biochar machine as a pilot project, investing significant time into designing a production process that would produce biochar—fitting, as the company has a background heavy in engineering, according to Fitzgerald. “In 2017, when we perfected the production process, the company launched its sustainable fuel called Harvest Flame, which is 100% sustainable and actually made from olive pits.” Just over a decade later, Arigna decided to scale up production and purchased two large reactors, each with a capacity of 35,000 metric tons. They were commissioned in November 2023, Fitzgerald said, and are now fully operational. “The additional capacity that we have, we’ve used it to ramp up production of Harvest Flame, but also to address other large-volume uses of biochar, such as a soil amendment in housing developments and chemical fertilizer replacement in golf greens and turf soil. It’s unusual that we’ve focused on only one attribute of biochar—that it’s a good solid fuel substitute. Only in the past two years have we actually started to look at the other uses of biochar.” As for challenges encountered, Fitzgerald said he categorizes them into two sets—addressable and nonaddressable. &nbsp;Conquering Challenges “The first [addressable challenge] is the lack of large-scale markets other than the fuel market,” he explained. “This is the single biggest issue that we face, and what we mean by other markets is a source of demand for a sufficient quantity of biochar at a profitable price. &nbsp;There are lots of research papers and reports that identify the benefits of biochar for so many areas … but there’s actually very little research on the economics of those uses.” Arigna meets this challenge by identifying and analyzing markets where there may be some potential for large-scale use in terms of volume, but also a particular catalyst that will allow that demand to be realized. “We seek to partner with someone in the sector to bring focus to our research, and so that we can get to trial as quickly as possible,” Fitzgerald said. “And by trial we mean field trials, because we’ve actually found that a key part of any trial is the actual application of the biochar itself.” The second addressable challenge that Arigna faces is price point; incumbent product is usually cheaper than the company’s biochar. “The reason for this is that, in the case of the incumbent product, it usually doesn’t reflect the true cost,” he said. “Coal is a very good example. The true cost of coal is not reflected in its price, because the cost of the environmental damage is not a factor basis. Our response here is quite simple: We have to be able to provide a product with the same value as the current product as we have done in the case of coal, or we have to be able to solve this problem when the current product cannot.” Another challenge is research and development. “One of the downsides of the many uses of biochar is what to focus on,” Fitzgerald said. “We have a lab and two researchers, so there’s very little that we don’t know or can’t find out about manufacturing biochar. However, when it comes to its applications, we need expertise in soil science, renewable gas, agriculture and horticulture … it can be overwhelming and distracting.”&nbsp; The final addressable challenge Fitzgerald pinpointed was raising capital. “There are a lot of reasons why this is an issue, such as our continued presence in coal and our location in Ireland,” he said. “The bottom line is that we struggle to raise capital, hence we must generate capital from internal sources and our existing shareholders in the near term, while increasing awareness of the company in the medium term.”&nbsp; As for nonaddressable challenges, Fitzgerald said the company’s continued manufacture of smokeless coal can shut down conversations very early. “Sometimes, we’re advised to close down the coal facility or separate the coal and biochar businesses, but neither is possible for us due to cost and practicality,” he said. “Over time, we’re replacing our coal sales with biochar-based fuel, but it’s going to take time.” While location has been another challenge on account of the operation’s distance from feedstocks and markets, it’s becoming less of an issue due to its large-scale production capacity and as the company gains traction in high-value markets. &nbsp; Sustainability rollbacks can be a challenge, Fitzgerald said, but it hasn’t been as big of an issue as the company had initially thought. “When we see organizations considering biochar, it’s because they have a problem and biochar might solve it,” he said. “The problem might be related to sustainability, but there’s always a more immediate issue, and that’s what we focus on. In short, we don’t see sustainability as a main driver of demand. We don’t sell sustainability; we sell a product that has benefits, one of which is sustainability.” Finally, perceptions regarding biochar can be a hurdle. &nbsp;“As we know, biochar has been around for a long time, and there is a sense that while it’s a breakthrough and magical material, it has never achieved its full potential,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s definitely an element of fatigue in certain sectors that we speak to, and our response is that we have to demonstrate that we have a track record and can produce large quantities of consistent-quality biochar, and we can also provide ongoing analysis of the characteristics of our biochar.” &nbsp;Opportunities and Drivers As for opportunities, Fitzgerald says that though using biochar for fuel is contentious and many people take exception to it, for Arigna, it’s a necessity. “It replaces fossil fuel and wood, and it’s actually doing a lot of good. Our immediate opportunity is our biofuel Harvest Flame, which is sold as a domestic fuel. The product is made from olive pits, a by-product of olive oil [production], and our process is optimized to produce the maximum amount of biochar using the syngas to run the thermal oxidizer.” Arigna has perfected the production process over many years with the objective of making Harvest Flame competitive with fossil fuels and wood. “What we find is that consumers will buy a sustainable product, but they won’t pay a significant green premium or take a significant utility discount,” he said. “So, the good news here is that we are gaining some traction with the product as a replacement for coal, and increasingly, for wood in the domestic setting.” Fitzgerald noted there has been a sharp increase in wood stove purchases in the U.K., leading to the importation of wood from all forests in Europe and the use of wet wood sourced locally. “This can have serious health implications,” he said. “The bad news for us is that the fuel market is ultimately a declining one. Also, as winters become warmer and shorter, it has become a more seasonal and weather-related convenience purchase.” Following a successful trial last winter selling Harvest Flame in its stores for several weeks, German discount supermarket chain Aldi has committed to stocking the product in 162 stores in Ireland or the next two years, according to Fitzgerald. “That’s a bright spot for us,” he said.&nbsp; A related opportunity that Fitzgerald discussed was the use of biochar as an industrial fuel to replace fossil fuel in the manufacture of cement. “This has been happening because cement companies are now increasingly looking for—or the customers of cement companies, I should say—green cement, and they actually will pay a lot of premium.”&nbsp; Recent trials with a cement company were positive, Fitzgerald said. He also highlighted several other trials in various stages, including testing different biochar concentrations against an industry standard fertilizer on golf courses and putting greens, as well as trials in the turf sod and agricultural crop sectors. He emphasized that fuel remains the company’s single biggest opportunity. “But the order of most other opportunities has reversed,” he said. “Of course, it could all change again, but it does demonstrate the importance of being flexible and responsible.” Not to be underestimated, Fitzgerald said, is the importance of trying to understand the problem that the customer is trying to solve. “It’s usually a real-world problem with a cost implication, and I think it has been demonstrated by our involvement in large-scale trials that we are well placed to help answer some of these questions. It might come as a surprise, but we don’t get asked a lot of questions on issues that are much debated within the biochar industry, such as the definition of biochar, the characteristics of biochar, proximity of feedstock … that’s not an issue for us. We can provide analysis on our biochar from start to finish. “We believe the key drivers of demand are regulatory pressure and concerns with the impact of incumbent products,” he continued. “Our emphasis is on trying only what can be produced and sold profitably at scale and trials, but they must be as close to the real world as possible with high-quality partners.”&nbsp; Fitzgerald concluded by emphasizing the company’s ability to produce large quantities of consistent-quality biochar. “We are seeing increasing levels of interest backed up with some significant demand, and this is bringing some clarity to the areas of interest to us and also helping us with product development,” he added. “However, it’s an evolving market and it can change quickly.”Author: Anna Simet asimet@bbiinternational.com

2025-10-02 - Buzzing on Biocarbon (Biomass Magazine)

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Biochar as a fuel replacement was one of many topics discussed at the North American Biochar Conference in Minneapolis. 

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