Biochar's Debut on Blockchain Carbon Removal Markets

Caroline Feet introduces the International Biochar Initiative webinar on biochar's debut on blockchain carbon removal market. She provides housekeeping details, such as how to resolve audio issues and how to ask questions during the webinar. She also mentions that the webinar is being recorded and that the recording and slides will be available after the live event.

Kathleen Draper, the moderator, welcomes participants from around the world and emphasizes the potential impact of the webinar topic on the biochar industry. She highlights the growing interest in carbon removal marketplaces and the potential for these markets to provide financial support for biochar projects, especially in the wake of economic challenges caused by the pandemic.

Kathleen provides background on the International Biochar Initiative (IBI), noting its membership growth and its efforts to promote good industry practices and standards. She discusses IBI's ambitious goal of helping the biochar industry reach 1 billion tons of production per year, a significant increase from the current levels.

Kathleen mentions the global participation in IBI and the financial support from business and organizational members. She lists new and renewed business members from various countries, including Canada, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.

Kathleen discusses the development of methodologies for carbon sequestration and the growing focus on negative emissions technologies (NETs), including biochar. She highlights the emergence of biochar-related methodologies and the potential for biochar to contribute to carbon removal markets.

Thomas Junginger and Andreas Spörri, co-founders of Carbon Future, are introduced. They share their backgrounds and explain how they became interested in biochar. They describe their journey in developing a blockchain-based platform for carbon removal, aiming to finance and scale biochar production.

Thomas explains the mission of Carbon Future, focusing on creating long-term, stable carbon sinks through biochar. He outlines the importance of rigorous financing instruments and how their platform aims to support the biochar industry by providing verifiable and transparent carbon sink credits.

Thomas and Andreas detail the development of their blockchain platform, including the pilot transactions conducted last year. They discuss the feedback received and the decision to establish Carbon Future as a company to help finance carbon sinks and promote biochar's value in the market.

Thomas provides an overview of the carbon removal value chain, from biochar producers to users and certifiers. He explains the roles and needs of each participant in the chain and how Carbon Future's platform supports efficient distribution and management of carbon sink credits.

Thomas explains how carbon sink credits are created and the flow of money in the carbon removal value chain. He describes the compensation structure for biochar producers, users, and Carbon Future, emphasizing the potential to lower biochar costs and increase its value proposition.

Thomas discusses the onboarding requirements for biochar producers and users, including the need for a production certificate and a carbon future coupon. He outlines the certification process and the importance of scientific insights and tamper-proof documentation in their blockchain platform.

Andreas takes over to explain the certification process in detail. He highlights the minimum requirements for certifications accepted by Carbon Future and the importance of avoiding non-beneficial side effects. He also mentions the support for innovative pilots to explore new methodologies.

Andreas discusses different types of biochar applications supported by their platform, including soil application, durable construction materials, and other innovative uses like asphalt and plastic. He explains the permanence assessment for each type and the readiness for pilot projects.

Andreas outlines the international market coverage of Carbon Future's platform. He mentions the support for European and North American markets and the ongoing efforts to expand to other regions. He also highlights the collaboration with EBC and IBI to ensure comprehensive market support.

Andreas describes the types of balancers (end consumers) for their carbon sink credits, including industrial corporates, institutional bodies, and individual consumers. He emphasizes the focus on green businesses and the support for managing CO2 footprints and meeting regulatory requirements.

Andreas provides a glimpse into the Carbon Future platform, explaining the roles supported and the functionality for each role. He highlights the transparency and security of the blockchain technology used, ensuring tamper-proof documentation of carbon removal processes.

Andreas goes into detail about the sink registration process on the platform. He explains how users upload relevant documents, such as the carbon future coupon, and how the platform calculates and verifies the sequestration potential, including deductions for transportation and processing.

Andreas shows a sample carbon future coupon used for documenting biochar applications. He explains the information required, such as application type and location, and how the coupon ensures transparency and accountability in the carbon removal process.

Andreas introduces the concept of portfolios on their platform, allowing for the aggregation and flexible brokerage of carbon sink credits. He explains how portfolios can cater to different customer needs and highlight specific characteristics, such as local impact or soil enrichment benefits.

Andreas and Thomas conclude by stating that the Carbon Future platform is ready for business. They invite biochar producers and users to participate in pilot transactions and emphasize their commitment to supporting the biochar industry and fighting climate change.

Kathleen wraps up the presentation, thanking the Carbon Future team for their efforts and collaboration with IBI. She notes the interest from participants and transitions to the Q&A session, where various questions about the platform, certification, and market interactions are addressed.

Various questions from the audience are addressed, covering topics such as the minimum size for participation, the stability criteria for biochar, market expansion, revenue sharing, and comparisons with other carbon platforms. The Carbon Future team provides detailed answers and clarifications.

The Q&A session continues with more questions about the differences between Carbon Future and other platforms, the potential for double-counting carbon credits, and the integration with public carbon incentive schemes. The team discusses their ongoing efforts and future plans for growth.

The team provides detailed answers to specific audience questions about lifecycle assessments, the energy footprint of blockchain technology, and the potential for biodiversity monitoring. They emphasize the importance of transparency and rigorous accounting in their platform.

The discussion touches on how the platform could help countries account for biochar's contribution to their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. The team considers the potential for integrating with public carbon markets and avoiding double-counting issues.

Kathleen provides final remarks, thanking the Carbon Future team and the participants. She mentions upcoming IBI webinars and encourages non-members to join IBI. She also highlights a special offer for new members and reminds everyone to complete a survey to help improve future webinars.