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Peter Peng, General Manager of TCHAR. (Photo: Daisy Chuang)
Leveraging agricultural-grade biochar certified to the highest international standards and expanding its use by integrating it with plastics, carbon fiber, cement, and other materials, Guangtai Environmental Energy (TCHAR) — headquartered in the Central Taiwan Science Park — has become the first Taiwanese company to secure international biochar certification
Taiwanese firm Guangtai Environmental Energy, headquartered in the Central Taiwan Science Park, has emerged as the nation's first enterprise to secure international certification for biochar. Leveraging agricultural-grade biochar that meets the highest global standards, Guangtai has expanded its portfolio to integrate biochar with plastics, carbon fiber, cement, and other materials, thereby broadening its sustainable applications.
Guangtai Environmental Energy secures top-tier biochar certification, opens pathway to transparent carbon credit conversion
Biochar—an opaque, coal-like substance produced from carbon-rich feedstocks such as wood, bamboo, and rice husks through specialized pyrolysis—captures carbon dioxide in a solid form, permanently sequestering it in the earth.
Although biochar was originally developed to enhance soil fertility and pH for agricultural use, its importance as a negative-emission material has grown in tandem with the global push for net-zero targets. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognizes biochar as a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) mechanism, since its resistance to decomposition effectively transforms it into a permanent carbon sink.
Biochar—an opaque, coal-like substance produced from carbon-rich feedstocks such as wood, bamboo, and rice husks through specialized pyrolysis. (Photo: TCHAR's website)
Founded in 2020 in anticipation of the critical role that carbon removal would play amid increasingly extreme climate events, Guangtai Environmental Energy introduced Germany's latest pyrolysis system—nicknamed "Formosan Salamander"—to Taiwan last year.
Shortly thereafter, the company was registered on CDR.fyi's carbon-removal data platform as Asia's first project of its kind and Taiwan's first biochar supplier. That same year, Guangtai's production processes passed the stringent EBC (European Biochar Certificate) standard, the foremost international benchmark for biochar quality.
According to Managing Director Peter Peng, although manufacturing biochar does not inherently require EBC certification, obtaining this certification ensures a rigorous methodological framework and risk-control mechanisms. These are indispensable for converting carbon removal into tradable carbon credits and forestalling accusations of greenwashing. Following third-party audits, Guangtai earned both EBC biochar certification and carbon-credit verification, thereby affirming that each kilogram of their biochar sequesters 2.625 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
To meet EBC's exacting criteria, Guangtai internalized every external cost, ensuring a zero-pollution operation. The company sources biomass exclusively from routine pruning or post-disaster removal of camphor trees—avoiding deforestation of natural forests—and repurposes waste heat from pyrolysis to dry additional feedstock, optimizing energy efficiency. Presently, the "Formosan Salamander" can produce 800 to 1,000 kilograms of biochar daily.
Throughout the production cycle, data are continuously monitored, reported, and verified through a digital MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) system. This real-time data is uploaded to Cula Technologies' carbon-removal monitoring cloud platform, which forwards verified metrics to the EBC backend, ensuring full transparency, traceability, and credibility. Guangtai plans to introduce two additional machines next year, each capable of producing three metric tons per day, to scale up its capacity substantially.
Guangtai Environmental Energy introduced Germany's latest pyrolysis system—nicknamed "Formosan Salamander"—to Taiwan last year. (Photo: Daisy Chuang)
Guangtai Environmental Energy targets global sustainable materials market with biochar-based innovations
Expanding into the global sustainable materials market, Guangtai is developing high-value applications for biochar beyond its traditional agricultural uses, which include soil-structure enhancement, pH regulation, and toxin adsorption. Peng notes that while agricultural-grade biochar must meet rigorous quality standards—particularly if intended for use in fertilizers or animal feed—industrial-grade biochar commands even greater added value.
By combining biochar with plastics, carbon fiber, and cement, Guangtai is engineering high-strength sustainable composites. For instance, biochar-infused materials in the cosmetics industry can reduce microplastic pollution, and in high-end electronics, biochar can replace petroleum-derived carbon black. Furthermore, at FIBO 2025, Germany's premier fitness and wellness exhibition, Guangtai showcased its collaboration with fitness-equipment manufacturers to produce a "low-carbon treadmill."
The full article was translated by EnergyOMNI.
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