Following a successful pilot run, UK-based biochar technology company CapChar has deployed its first commercial customer unit at the Carbon350 site near Petersfield in the South Downs National Park.
At this location, CapChar’s system will serve to convert locally sourced woody biomass material into CO2-dense biochar.
Specifically, the deployment will demonstrate three separate technologies, one of which is CapChar’s batch pyrolysis technology used for biochar production.
Additionally, the Carbon350 site will also utilize CapChar’s patent-pending thermal battery innovation, designed to capture and store heat from the pyrolysis process so it can be used when it is actually needed.
Lastly, the deployment will also include the use of CapChar’s digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (dMRV) infrastructure, providing the data framework for measuring and recording biochar carbon removals.
This milestone installation builds on a successful pilot deployment conducted earlier in Cornwall with Tom Previte and Restord, which enabled the real-world testing of the system and provided insights towards its current version.
Carbon350’s plans for the CapChar biochar system
As shared in the announcement, Carbon350 will initially run the new system at 25% capacity, working towards a scale-up in the coming 12 months. Once it reaches full capacity, the project is expected to produce an annual volume of over 100 tonnes of biochar and close to 250 tCO₂e of carbon removals.
The heat captured during pyrolysis will serve to pre-dry the incoming biomass, while the surplus heat will be used for drying logs, kindling, and wood chip.
Relevant: CapChar Issues First Portion Of Biochar Credits For Bennetts Associates
On behalf of Carbon350 Solutions, CEO and Founder Catherine Daley shared that for her company, the installation of CapChar’s system near Petersfield is the foundation for a wider distributed model.
“This is about pioneering a distributed UK model for biochar carbon removal – local biomass, local heat, local soil health, and high-integrity carbon credits,” she said.
CapChar co-founder Adam Samuel stated, “What we learned from our early work with Tom Previte and Restord in Cornwall helped us get here. Carbon350 now gives us the opportunity to take our first-of-its-kind technology into commercial operation and demonstrate how distributed biochar production can work in the real world.”
Read more: CapChar Proposes New UK-Oriented Biochar Carbon Code
