Carbonity, a joint venture involving Airex Energy, Groupe Rémabec, and SUEZ, has achieved certification under the Puro.earth standard for its biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More production facility in Port Cartier, Canada. This certification, which comes just weeks after the plant’s official launch, enables the project to issue carbon removal certificates.

Following a multi-stage verification process that extended over several months, the project successfully completed its first audit and has begun issuing carbon removal credits. The initial certificates have already been delivered to Microsoft, fulfilling a portion of a three-year forward offtake agreement secured in early 2024 for 36,000 carbon credits.

The comprehensive audit by Puro.earth included a detailed review of all processes at the Port Cartier facility related to safety, environmental protection, and quality. Auditors also examined production parameters such as the temperature profile and duration of the pyrolysisPyrolysis is a thermochemical process that converts waste biomass into bio-char, bio-oil, and pyro-gas. It offers significant advantages in waste valorization, turning low-value materials into economically valuable resources. Its versatility allows for tailored products based on operational conditions, presenting itself as a cost-effective and efficient More process, the origin and moisture content of the feedstockFeedstock refers to the raw organic material used to produce biochar. This can include a wide range of materials, such as wood chips, agricultural residues, and animal manure. More, and the quality of the resulting biochar. First Climate AG guided the project through the certification process, which verified that the methods for quantifying climate benefits align with Puro.earth requirements.

Traceability of each certificate is managed by a fully digital system from Cula Technologies, which consolidates and documents all data relevant to Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV).

The Carbonity facility is one of the largest of its kind in North America, converting existing biomassBiomass is a complex biological organic or non-organic solid product derived from living or recently living organism and available naturally. Various types of wastes such as animal manure, waste paper, sludge and many industrial wastes are also treated as biomass because like natural biomass these More waste from the local wood industry into biochar via a special pyrolysis process. In its current phase, production capacity is being ramped up to 10,000 tonnes per year. At full capacity, the plant will produce up to 30,000 tonnes of biochar annually, representing a climate benefit of 75,000 tonnes of CO2​ permanently removed from the atmosphere each year. The partners, Airex Energy and SUEZ, have a global biochar roadmap to achieve a worldwide production capacity of 350,000 tonnes of biochar annually by 2035.