The first two units of the Turkish bioenergy firm Kurtbey Enerji's biochar production plant in the western city of Edirne started operations in January. The plant is set to remove around 10,000t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually from the atmosphere during its first phase.
Kurtbey has applied for accreditation with carbon registry Isometric and expects to issue its first carbon removal credits in April 2026, the firm told Argus. Adding that the generated credits would have a permanence level over 200 years.
Both units are now fully operational and the company aims to gradually build and bring on line 12 identical units in total by 2028, which would have a carbon removal potential of around 60,000t CO2e/yr combined.
The two commissioned units have a capacity of 8 t/d of physical biochar production, fed by 24 t/d of agricultural biomass — namely rice husk and sunflower seed shells. The plant was "strategically" located in Edirne, near the border with Greece, which is one of the largest sunflower and rice production regions, to be able to source its feedstock fully locally.
The plant was designed to operate independently from the grid, with most of the operational energy demand met through the syngas generated during the pyrolysis process, with pyrolysis oil planned to be integrated into the system in later phases, Kurtbey said.
The facility holds the European Biochar Certificate, which will enable the physical biochar it produces to be used in agricultural and livestock applications across Europe.
In the first six months of production, a part of the physical biochar produced will primarily be allocated to pilot applications in the seedling and nursery sector. And a significant portion of the biochar produced in the short term will be distributed free of charge to local farmers.
As additional units are commissioned and production scales up, Kurtbey aims to sell biochar to the European markets, targeting agricultural and livestock applications.
The company expects to receive stronger regulatory and financial support from the government for their carbon credits, due to the high permanence.
