PACIFIC BIOCHAR LANDS FIRST BIOCHAR CARBON CREDITS IN US
Pacific Biochar recently became the first company in the US to certify biochar for carbon credits. How did you make that happen?
The process of accomplishing one of the first successful certified biochar carbon credit projects in the US began years ago, involved the efforts of many, and required hard work and perseverance. The fact that Pacific Biochar happened to be the company to carry the baton across the finish line is perhaps due to a little bit of luck, and also, as my friend Jonah Levine, CEO of Biochar Solutions, Inc. put it, “vision and grit.”
On November 18, 2020 the first facility in North America was certified, and on November 30 the first credits were sold. To make this possible, there first had to be a methodology for calculating carbon sequestration and a trusted method for accurately predicting the stability of any given sample of biochar. After about a decade and a few thousand peer reviewed research articles, plus the combined efforts of a range of governmental and non-governmental international groups and some forward-thinking industry pioneers (e.g., Puro and Carbonfuture), a biochar carbon accounting methodology was finally accepted as mature enough to become active in voluntary markets.
Are any other North American biochar producers working on this?
Almost simultaneously, another California company, Carbo-Culture, was also working on registering their pilot facility for biochar carbon credits. It appears that Pacific Biochar may have beaten them to the punch by a matter of days – essentially irrelevant in the scheme of things – and a great sign that the efforts are repeatable with a variety of equipment and a variety of platforms. Carbo-Culture’s first credits are with Puro, while Pacific Biochar’s credits are with Carbonfuture. For Pacific Biochar, the process of reaching this milestone began nearly a year prior. Pioneering the process is never easy, but it is anticipated that future projects can be certified start to finish more quickly.
What are the steps that a biochar producer needs to take to certify biochar for carbon credits?
For other biochar producers looking to get started on this path, here is brief checklist of critical items you will need:
● Lab reports confirming the biochar is safe for use and with known permanence
● A third party Life Cycle Analysis and/or detailed accounting of:
○ feedstock characteristics and sourcing,
○ emissions associated with feedstock procurement, transportation, and processing
○ emissions associated with biochar production
○ energy consumption and energy generation balances of production
○ post-pyrolysis processing emissions, transportation, and packaging if any
○ ongoing confirmation of sequestration (i.e invoices and contracts confirming it was not/will not be burned)
What is the most important thing for readers to take-away from this news?
Two things: 1.) financially support the USBI and IBI, their work makes this possible; and 2.) in order to scale at the pace required to balance our planet’s CO2 budget before it’s too late, commitments for purchase of carbon credits are needed – it’s a runway we need for liftoff.”
Biochar made by Pacific Biochar on its way to carbon sequestration in soil. Photo: Pacific Biochar