🖤 Construction + biochar carbon removal (hashtag#BCR) = a match made in heaven?

🔦 Today, I am featuring ecoLocked, a German start-up on a mission to decarbonise the construction industry. As a reminder building materials alone contribute 15% of global emissions.

🏗️ Their approach focuses on integrating biochar into construction materials, enabling the creation of durable carbon sinks in the built environment. They have already sequestered 60t of CO₂ and they’re just getting started!

How does ecoLocked operate?

🪨 ecoLocked uses biochar, a carbon-rich product derived from biomass pyrolysis, which is processed and incorporated into concrete as an admix or additive, partially substituting conventional inputs like cement and aggregates. Note: no significant changes are required at the concrete production site.

🌍 This process permanently sequesters carbon within the concrete structures, creating CO₂ -negative building materials thereby reducing the net carbon footprint, sequestering an estimated 200kg of CO2/m3 of concrete.

💪 In addition to the tremendous environmental benefits, ecoLocked tailors their products to the performance needs of different concrete market segments, such as mechanical performance, weight, or insulation properties.

What is ecoLocked’s carbon removal strategy?

📈 ecoLocked recognises biochar’s material properties that increase its value in a variety of contexts and aims to provide a highly-scalable market for biochar as a value-adding carbon store.

💚 They see tremendous market and CO2 impact potential incorporating biochar admixes into building materials, as gigatonnes of cement and concrete are produced each year and the current process is inherently carbon-intensive, with hard-to-abate emissions.

🤝 In a partnership with Carbonfuture tracking tools and Carbon Standards International AG certification, ecoLocked has also been piloting an end to end, trackable, trustworthy removal process.

💰 Following their €4 million seed round in June, they are expanding their R&D team and production facilities, introducing new product lines, and enhancing demand for their products.

🤩 Personally, I see biochar in concrete as one of the most high-potential options we have to scale carbon dioxide removal (hashtag#CDR). The construction sector needs solutions to tackle embodied emissions, and biochar seems to be a method of choice given its price, availability, and properties.

❓ What do you think about ecoLocked’s approach and vision?

📣 Shoutout to Stefanie Gerhart, Dr. Mario Schmitt, Micheil Gordon, and the rest of the ecoLocked team - looking forward to seeing what you come up with next.

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