Aperam BioEnergia Biochar - Brazil

Description info

Aperam BioEnergia is a brazilian player of the forest and renewable energy sector, that runs a ~420.000 ton/year charcoal operation with emissions control in the northeast region of Minas Gerais - Brazil, and holds ~126.000 ha of planted (FSC Certified) and native forest with important biodiversity and economical impact on local communities.

Previously, part of the charcoal production that wasn’t being used in Aperam’s industrial process was sold to the market for energy applications, mostly to cement production industries. Now, with the Biochar project, the material is brought back to Aperam BioEnergia forests and applied to the soil, where it not only serves as a durable carbon removal from the atmosphere but also acts as an important natural component for soil characteristics reconditioning and improvement. This change of baseline is only possible due to the carbon removal revenue.

Aperam BioEnergia business plan for the future brings Biochar as an important solution to be scaled, not only to promote carbon sequestration but also forest productivity improvement due to better soil properties, production process efficiency increase and local social and economic development. The energy that was previously generated by burning the char material is not at risk of being substituted by fossil fuel sources because of the ample availability of cheaper renewable energy sources in Brazil. Currently, Aperam BioEnergia has a capacity for around 30kton/year of biochar.