Nexus Development Capital, a provider of catalytic capital for sustainable infrastructure project developers, has made a $5m investment in biochar producer Standard Biocarbon, according to a news release.
The funding will enable Standard Biocarbon to scale operations at its facility in Enfield, Maine to meet the growing demand for carbon capture and biochar. The company will commence production of its high-quality biochar in Q1 2024 and is estimated to produce 16,000 cubic yards of biochar and capture 3,000 tons of carbon a year.
Standard Biocarbon was founded by veteran sustainability entrepreneurs Fred Horton and Tom Horton in 2020 to develop a scalable commercial biochar manufacturing capacity in North America. Biochar, a charcoal-like material, is produced by heating organic matter to an extremely high temperature in a low-oxygen environment. The biochar can then store carbon for up to thousands of years. By putting biochar back into the earth, the carbon is permanently removed, making biochar one of the most immediate commercially scalable pathways for carbon removal. In addition to the multiple established agricultural applications, biochar can be used in hazardous waste remediation, stormwater management and in low-carbon cement, pavement and polymers.
Recently, biochar has emerged as a leading carbon removal (CDR) solution, limited only by the pace of scaled production and the growth of biochar adoption. According to new research by the International Biochar Institute, biochar has the potential to capture up to 3 billion metric tons of CO2 annually, reducing global emissions by up to 6 percent.
Standard Biocarbon’s plant utilizes state-of-the-art technology to efficiently produce biochar of consistently high quality and to create the highest value CDR. This negative emission technology (NET) has high value applications with environmental benefits including:
- Remediating heavy metals and forever chemicals (PFAS) from water and soils
- Reduction of methane emissions via new animal feed additive
- Feedstock to produce graphite or graphene for battery electrodes and composites
- Improving soil productivity, water and nutrient retention
- Alternative concrete and pavement
- Reducing urban tree mortality
- Improving water filtration capabilities
- Emerging uses of renewable materials in technology where nonrenewable metals have historically been used
“Biochar is one of the most cost-effective and commercially ready approaches for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Scaling these types of carbon removal facilities is now one of our biggest opportunities,” said Joshua Kaufman, CEO of Nexus Development Capital. “We see Standard Biocarbon as one of the first to bring these in-demand carbon sequestration solutions online to meet the huge appetite across multiple sectors.”
Nexus Development Capital’s unique investment model focuses on providing catalytic capital to accelerate early-stage project teams that are often developing new FOAK low-carbon solutions. By filling a much-needed investment market gap, Nexus Development Capital enables developers to prove their business model, complete development activities, grow their teams and commercialize their technologies. The company’s investment in Standard Biocarbon comes on the heels of its recent investment in SWITCH Maritime, the operator of the US’s first hydrogen ferry.
“This investment by Nexus Development Capital has enabled Standard Biocarbon to complete one of the most advanced and efficient biochar plants in the world,” said Fred Horton, CEO and co-founder of Standard Biocarbon. “We’re seeing incredible interest in a consistent supply of our high-quality purpose-made biochar, which until now has been nearly impossible to find.”
