The biocarbon future – a holistic approach to new sustainable value chains
Even though the transition of the industry involves a high degree of electrification, carbon atoms will still be required for various material applications, such as in metallurgical processes or batteries. Biocarbon (or biochar) is seen as a key material to move away from fossil carbon.
At the same time, there are expectations on biocarbon to act as a carbon sink and contribute to negative emissions. New applications impose new demands on supply chains, product quality, and markets for biocarbon. This interdisciplinary doctoral project centers around the development of large-scale production of biocarbon to meet future challenges, in particular for use in the industry. We explore opportunities for and barriers to the biocarbon system development from three partially overlapping sustainability perspectives for the entire biocarbon value chain: socio-ecology (raw material supply), techno-economics (production and use), and socio-economics (markets and policies).
About the project
The project is founded by the Swedish Energy Agency and connected to the Research School Energy Systems (FoES). The project is expected to conclude by September 2029. Three PhD students are involved in the project together with Professor Elisabeth Wetterlund (project leader) and Professor Robert Lundmark from Luleå University of Technology, and senior lecturer David Agar and senior lecturer Dan Bergström from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
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