Biochar is a Game Changer

From ancient Amazonian soils to cutting-edge concrete, biochar is gaining ground as a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

Essentially, biochar is a carbon-rich material produced via pyrolysis, the process of heating biomass (such as wood chips, agricultural residues, or manure) in oxygen-limited conditions to yield a stable charcoal-like substance. Biochar is considered carbon negative because it removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits during production. It traces its roots to the ancient terra preta soils in the Amazon basin, where indigenous practices enriched infertile soil with charcoal and organic waste, resulting in soils of remarkable fertility that persist even today.

Unlike traditional charcoal, biochar is designed with specific properties for targeted applications: from improving soil fertility to enhancing building materials and supporting the circular economy. When applied to soils, you often see benefits like better water retention and less need for synthetic fertilizers. The combination of durable carbon storage plus practical gains explains why biochar has been getting so much attention lately. 

The value for the climate is straightforward: convert biogenic carbon into a stable form and, in many cases, return it to soils. Scaling requires three things: First, reliable feedstock supply chains based on waste, not primary biomass that competes with food or forests. Second, consistent production and process control that delivers the properties you promised. Third, finance. Properly measured and verified, biochar can generate high-integrity carbon credits. That revenue helps farmers and SMEs invest in equipment, training, and quality control, so that projects can graduate from pilots to programs.

The point is to upcycle what’s locally abundant.

We see promising work in lightweight concrete and mortars, acoustic and thermal panels, moisture-regulating plasters, even asphalt modifiers.

There are three red flags. The first is using virgin feedstock. Biochar should be made from residues. Second, weak data. No elemental analysis, no TGA. Third, over-claiming. Credits without transparent boundaries or permanence assumptions. The cure is simple if not easy: certified feedstocks, published methods, and independent verification. If you want markets and regulators to trust you, measure properly and make the data traceable.

Three things. First, better integration with waste systems by designing pyrolysis around local residues to cut logistics emissions. Second, production that captures useful co-products like heat or syngas to displace fossil energy. Third, cross-disciplinary collaboration so agronomists, chemists, engineers, and policy-makers are solving the same problems. Do that, and biochar moves from niche to necessity.

Softwood pellets before (left) and after (right) pyrolysis. When heated in the absence of oxygen, the biomass is converted into biochar.

As a leading figure at the Department of Applied Science and Technology at Politecnico di Torino, Professor Mauro Giorcelli combines his expertise in materials science with a deep passion for climate solutions. He serves on the board of the Italian Biochar Association (ICHAR), where he contributes to the development of best practices and regulations for biochar worldwide. At conferences and trade shows, he brings along his “magic box,” filled with everyday products made with biochar—from shampoos and face masks to cement—to show audiences where biochar is already part of daily life.