In Canada, we’re turning up the heat for a zero carbon future

SUEZ has teamed up with Airex Energy and Groupe Rémabec to announce the creation of the first industrial biochar production plant in Port-Cartier, Canada. Owned by CARBONITY, a joint venture equally owned by the three partners, the plant will be commissioned end 2024. It will create 75 local jobs when fully operational. Its initial production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year is set to triple by 2026, making it the largest biochar plant in North America and one of the biggest in the world.

This first plant will produce a carbon-rich biochar with high environmental qualities from the residual biomass of Groupe Rémabec's sawmill operations. The plant waste produced by the Quebec timber industry leader (which would emit greenhouse gases over time if left to rot) will be heated to temperatures between 500 and 700°C in an oxygen-free environment. This pyrolysis technique concentrates and stabilises the carbon in the biochar, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere as a result of the natural decomposition of biomass.

Considered by some to be the “new black gold,” in addition to its carbon sequestration characteristics, biochar can be utilised by a number of different sectors. Thanks to its physical and chemical properties, it regenerates soil and increases its fertility by improving its aeration potential, reducing its toxicity, limiting the use of fertilizers and preserving water resources. A second example among many others, when added to concrete or asphalt formulations, biochar brings new functionalities to the final material while helping to reduce its carbon footprint, a key issue for the construction sector. Furthermore, the surplus energy generated by the high-temperature production of biochar, converted into steam, pyrolysis oil or even power, can be directly reused on site or by local industries.

This unprecedented initiative in Canada is a fine example of the synergy between our commitments and our expertise, combining the CarbonFX-HT™ pyrolysis technologies developed by Airex Energy
with the broad operational expertise of SUEZ, the global leader in the transformation and exploitation of organic waste, and agricultural soil amendments and organic fertilisers.

The project, financially supported by the Quebec and Canadian governments, will help sequester 75,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year when fully operational. The biochar production will be supported by the issuance of guaranteed, certified carbon credits⁴ that will be sold on the voluntary market by First Climate, one of the world's leading providers of carbon management and green energy servicesto businesses and the public sector.

By 2035, the portfolio of plants developed by Airex Energy and SUEZ aims to produce 350,000 tonnes of biochar a year, which will lead to sequester 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

With the IPCC¹ considering that the carbon neutrality targets set by the Paris Agreements can only be met through the mass sequestration of carbon dioxide² , biochar is seen as a new “black gold”. This biomass-based “carbon concentrate” illustrates SUEZ’ desire to fight climate change through a negative emission technology offering outstanding potential. Over to Canada, where we will be mass producing this biochar.