Converting waste into a 'carbon sponge'

ECOM and NetZero have joined forces in an innovative partnership to build a biochar factory in Minas Gerais, Brazil’s main coffee region. Biochar is a soil amendment produced from biomass waste and recognised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a high-potential sustainable solution. Spread on agricultural land, biochar acts as a ‘carbon sponge’, aiding the retention of water and nutrients in the soil and helping mitigate GHG emissions. This pioneering initiative aims to increase coffee productivity while reducing the use of synthetic fertilisers and storing carbon in soils, contributing to the decarbonisation of agricultural chains, and improving coffee quality.

When completed, the factory will have the capacity to produce more than 4,000 tons of biochar each year, enough to cover 1,200 hectares of farmland.

The new factory follows the models of NetZero’s existing units in Lajinha (Minas Gerais) and Brejetuba (Espirito Santo). These two sites contribute to the removal of more than 6,000 tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year, in addition to significantly reducing emissions related to the use of fertilisers.