Carbo Culture’s first industrial pilot facility opens near Helsinki, Finland, demonstrating efficient and scalable biochar carbon removal

Charlotta Liukas
carboculture
Published in
3 min readAug 21, 2023
Pictured: Minister Kai Mykkänen at R3 together with Carbo Culture R3 Site Manager Ari Pesonen and CEO Henrietta Moon

On Tuesday, August 15th Carbo Culture officially opened its latest industrial carbon removal technology pilot in the city of Kerava, near Helsinki, Finland. Officiating the opening ceremony were Finland’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Kai Mykkänen and the Mayor of Kerava Kirsi Rontu.

The facility, named ‘R3, or Reactor 3,’ is funded by the European Innovation Council and it uses a method called biochar carbon removal (BCR) to permanently remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Operating at 3000 tons of CO2 removal per year, R3 is a fully automated demonstration of Carbo Culture’s technology and built to industrial standards.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is crucial to achieving climate goals. According to IPCC estimates, the world will need to reach 10 Gigatons of carbon removal annually by 2050 to keep within safe warming scenarios — and biochar carbon removal could be up to 2 Gigatons of this capacity!

‘’Carbon removal doesn’t replace emission reductions or forest carbon sinks — it complements them.’’ says The Minister of Environment and Climate Kai Mykkänen. ‘’ It has the greatest potential to speed up Finland’s transition towards carbon neutrality.’’

From left to right: Henrietta Moon CEO Carbo Culture, Kirsi Rontu Mayor Kerava, and Kai Mykkänen Minister of Climate and Environment

Biochar carbon removal uses light energy to convert carbon and technology to stabilize it for millenia

As plants grow, they naturally absorb CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis. Carbo Culture’s patented Carbolysis technology converts carbon-rich biomass into durable carbon, which can be safely stored in the soil for thousands of years, keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere. One ton of biochar sequesters 3.2 tons of carbon dioxide. In addition, the Carbolysis process produces clean, renewable energy, further supporting the global green transition and grid decarbonisation efforts. Of all carbon removal solutions biochar is the most scalable and efficient way of removing CO2.

R3 is a significant milestone in Carbo Culture’s carbon removal path

“We believe our biochar is a game-changer for climate change. It is safe, accessible and cost-effective — and has the potential to scale up fast”, says Henrietta Moon, CEO of Carbo Culture. “With the support from companies and governments, our technology can fulfill its potential to grow fast enough to prevent the climate crisis.”

The R3 pilot plant, with a nameplate capacity of 3.000 tons of carbon removal, is the first industrial demonstrator of the Nordic-American climate-tech startup’s innovative technology, and an important stepping stone in our path towards large-scale carbon removal.

A big shout-out of heartfelt gratitude to our phenomenal team and incredible partners for their hard work in this project!

Pictures by: Rahul Pardasani / Carbo Culture. All rights reserved.

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carboculture
carboculture

Published in carboculture

Drawing down CO2 and converting it into a stable form for 1000 years.

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