About Us

Origin

Carbón Emergente was founded in 2020, stemming from a seed planted at COP25 in Madrid after a meeting with Kathleen Draper and Albert Bates.

We started by producing biochar in a handcrafted Kontiki from landscaping prunings.

We conducted tests applying biochar during the planting of fruit trees, observing growth and health responses. We also ran trials with a local farmer, incorporating biochar into the bedding for calves, as well as manure, and slurry pits, and later applying various mixtures to his cornfields.

The results were positive, but the production process was slow and inefficient, and we realized that the impact we wanted to have in addressing the climate crisis required a much larger scale.

This led us to partner with Standard Bio, a Norwegian tech company with many years of experience in the biochar sector, with whom we share a purpose to enhance circularity and decarbonization in various sectors of the economy.

Together with Standard Bio, we designed our first industrial pyrolysis plant, located in the village of Escalante in northern Spain, designed to transform local plant waste into the highest quality biocarbon.

The journey to the launch of this plant has been long and complex, especially in financial and regulatory terms, but finally, in 2025, we will be able to inaugurate it.

Purpose

Our purpose is to contribute to a circular economy that sequesters carbon, restores ecosystems, and fosters regenerative development.

The climate crisis is largely due to an excess of carbon in the atmosphere. To counteract this, we need to minimize our emissions until we reach Net-Zero, but it is also crucial to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in long-term sinks.

Plants are specialists in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and converting it, among other things, into biomass during their growth. However, this biomass is not stable.

Each year, millions of tons of plant waste are generated, and their biomass is wasted through burning (both controlled and uncontrolled) or decomposition in landfills. These practices return all that carbon to the atmosphere.

Our solution

It is possible to design a solution that is better adapted to the needs of the territory and the planet.

Our pyrolysis plant, located in Cantabria, can transform these residual biomasses into biochar, retaining carbon in a solid, inert, and very stable form that can be incorporated into degraded soils to help restore their fertility and health.

In this way, we are creating carbon sinks that can last over 1,000 years, while also generating additional benefits for the rest of the ecosystem and, therefore, for the people who care for or work it—whether they are farmers, ranchers, foresters, or gardeners.

Healthy soil is the foundation for healthy plants, and that on which a resilient rural economy is built.

The renewable energy generated during the pyrolysis process is a versatile tool that can be locally used for nearby industrial processes, district heating, or electricity production.

This model is replicable and adaptable to each territory, turning waste management into a tool for energy transition, industrial decarbonization, and ecosystem and rural community regeneration.