The power of biochar: Our breakthrough carbon sink tech explained
During the 2025 Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy, we partnered with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena and his firm ELEMENTAL to present the world’s first application of a new biochar technology that transforms buildings into carbon sinks.
The Venice project – a full-scale Basic Services Unit housing prototype – was built with an advanced net-zero biochar concrete, with 100% recycled aggregates inside. This technology adds to Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s range of innovative solutions, as we work to advance sustainability as a driver of profitable growth with cutting-edge formulations as one of our key decarbonization drivers.
But what is biochar and how does it work?
Biochar – a carbon sink
At the end of life, organic materials release CO2 into the atmosphere. Using pyrolysis – the chemical decomposition of organic materials using heat in the absence of oxygen – we can transform organic waste into a charcoal-like material called biochar, and permanently sequester carbon that would otherwise have been released as CO2.
Biochar acts as a carbon sink, and each kilogram produced prevents the release of up to 3 kilograms of CO2. Then, biochar can be added to low-carbon formulations of building materials – including cement, mortar and concrete – to further reduce their CO2 footprint, with no compromise on performance. By recycling organic materials, biochar also contributes to the circular economy.
How big a difference can biochar make? According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it has the potential to eliminate 2.6 billion tons of CO2 per year, which is equivalent to taking 565 million ICE passenger cars off the road for a full year.
Helping customers meet their sustainability ambitions
Watch Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s Head of Global R&D, Edelio Bermejo, explain how biochar allows us to further reduce the carbon footprint of our formulations, and that we are running pilots using biochar in different countries to help our customers meet their sustainability ambitions.
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