Nexus Development Capital, a capital provider targeting sustainable infrastructure project developers, has invested $5 million in biochar producer Standard Biocarbon.
Biochar is made from organic waste material or biomass, and the material shows promise for mitigating climate change and improving soil quality.
It is produced by heating organic matter to an extremely high temperature in a low-oxygen environment, and the material can store carbon for thousands of years. Its carbon capture qualities make it of particular interest for climate change solutions and one of the most viable pathways for commercial carbon removal.
The $5 million investment from Nexus Development will enable Standard Biocarbon to scale operations at its facility in Enfield, Maine. The company produces biochar and will start producing its high-quality biochar in the first quarter of 2024, with an estimated production capacity of 16,000 cubic yards of biochar and capture 3,000 tons of carbon a year.
The funding comes as excitement around biochar has continued to grow, with estimates by the International Biochar Institute finding biochar has the potential to capture up to 3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually and reduce global emissions by up to 6%.
"Biochar is one of the most cost-effective and commercially ready approaches for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Scaling these types of carbon removal facilities is now one of our biggest opportunities," Joshua Kaufman, CEO of Nexus Development Capital, said in a statement. "We see Standard Biocarbon as one of the first to bring these in-demand carbon sequestration solutions online to meet the huge appetite across multiple sectors."
Carbon capture storage systems are being heavily explored across the globe and industries.
The United Kingdom recently announced its plans to create a new carbon capture market by 2035 that would boost the economic strength of such technologies. One of the biggest obstacles to biochar as a carbon capture solution is the pace of scaled production and adoption. More investments are needed to scale the sector, and there are many opportunities for carbon removal that will cost in the hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States alone.
Standard Biochar uses advanced technology to produce its biochar, which the company said can also be used for hazardous waste remediation, reduction of methane emissions via new animal feed alternatives, reducing urban tree mortality, improving water filtration capabilities, and emerging uses of renewable materials in technology in areas where nonrenewable materials have traditionally been used.
