The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (BFE) awards the PYREG GmbH as technology partner of the Swiss Verora AG with the renowned Watt d’Or, the award for best achievement in the energy sector.

Green heat and premium biochar

Verora AG is a group of farmers from the Zug mountain region and since 2012 has been operating one of the first plants of the now worldwide leading plant manufacturer PYREG. With the P500 used in Switzerland, the Swiss biochar pioneers have been recycling locally produced, untreated tree and shrub cuttings into high-quality biochar and generate green heat in the process. This heat heats the farm buildings via an integrated hot-water circuit, a concept that has already been adopted on a larger scale by the Basel IWB as an energy supplier.

Continuous optimization for best performance

The PYREG P500 system was developed in a close technological exchange between Verora AG and PYREG and today produces high-quality EBC-certified premium biochar. Verora AG is one of the leading suppliers of biochar in the Swiss market. “We are pleased with our success as a technology partner of Verora AG. The Verora GmbH in the person of Fredy Abächerli, and in particular the Keiser operating family are true pioneers in the Swiss biochar market. They recognized very early the need for an alternative in agriculture and climate protection and took risks that are now rightly appreciated,” says Helmut Gerber, CTO and founder of PYREG GmbH.

Der Beitrag PYREG wins the prestigious Watt d’Or award from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. erschien zuerst auf PYREG GmbH.

The Basel based IWB has realized the first climate-neutral district heating project in Switzerland. Using our newly developed PX1500, IWB is now feeding an annual heating capacity of around 1.5 gigawatt hours into the district heating network. That covers the energy needs of about 170 Basel households. IWB uses only regional, untreated biomass such as wood and green waste from a maximum radius of 40 kilometers. In the PYREG plant, this high-quality biomass is carbonized into biochar at 500 to 700 degrees Celsius in the absence of oxygen. In this biochar, CO₂ is safely bound. Subsequently dispersed into the earth it ends up in a permanent carbon sink.

IWB sells premium biochar and closes the loop

Through the advanced temperature-controlled Pyreg carbonization, IWB produces a premium biochar certified as the internationally accepted “EBC-AgroBio“. That biochar complies with the requirements for EU-wide use as a soil conditioner – even in organic farming. IWB sells the biochar – ca. 550 metric tons per year – to both, agricultural enterprises, and private customers. By doing so, IWB is also setting new standards for circular economy in the municipal sector.

A flagship project

“IWB is a pioneer in climate protection and living proof of the enormous climate protection value that lies in CO₂-negative district heating,” says Helmut Gerber, CTO and founder of PYREG GmbH, adding, “We are convinced that flagship projects like this one in Switzerland will follow worldwide. They are important as we have no more time to lose on the way to achieving the Paris climate protection goals.”
“With this, our first biochar plant IWB emphasizes our leading role as a service provider for renewable energy. Decarbonizing the heat supply is one of our most important tasks, and not just in Basel. We carry this mission throughout Switzerland. The plant is a showcase project in terms of decarbonization and energy efficiency. Also, our customers gain from the ecological benefits of the biochar,” says Dr. Arthur Janssen, Head of Strategy & Innovation at IWB.

Der Beitrag Flagship project: Climate-neutral district heating in Basel erschien zuerst auf PYREG GmbH.

Let’s dive right into the EBC’s policies to better understand background and what they do:

“Modern pyrolysis plants as well as certain types of farmer-scale kilns such as flame curtain pyrolysis systems are now ready to produce biochar from a large variety of different feedstocks in an energy efficient way and without harming the environment. As both biochar properties and the environmental footprint of its production are largely dependent on the pyrolysis parameters and the type of feedstocks to be used, a secure control and assessment system for its production and analysis had to be introduced. (…)
The goal of the EBC guidelines is to encourage and ensure the control of biochar production and quality based on well-researched, legally backed-up, economically viable and practically applicable processes. Users of biochar and biochar-based products should benefit from transparent and verifiable monitoring and quality assurance. (…)
In issuing these guidelines the Ithaka Institute intents to introduce an assessment mechanism based on the latest research and practices. By requiring the use of this assessment system, the European Biochar Certificate (EBC) will enable and guarantee sustainable biochar production, processing and sale. It is introduced to provide customers with a reliable quality standard, while giving producers the opportunity to prove that their products meet well-defined and recognized quality standards. It further aims to provide a firm state-of-the-art knowledge transfer as a sound basis for future legislation (e.g. EU fertilizer regulations or carbon-sink regulations).
Currently, the European Biochar Certificate is a voluntary industry standard in Europe. In Switzerland, however, it is obligatory for all biochar sold for use in agriculture. Several other countries aligned their biochar related regulations with the EBC.”

EBC (2012) ‘European Biochar Certificate -Guidelines for a Sustainable Production of Biochar.’ European Biochar Foundation (EBC), Arbaz, Switzerland. (http://european-biochar.org). Version 9.3E of 11thApril2021

Der Beitrag The European Biochar Certificate (EBC): A proven voluntary industry standard erschien zuerst auf PYREG GmbH.