Not all biochar production facilities are the same. VM0044 divides them into two categories: high technology and low technology. This classification affects how emissions during production are counted, which default values apply, and what end-use applications the biochar is eligible for.
Why the Classification Matters
The type of facility changes three things in the carbon accounting:
- Emissions during production: High technology facilities have pollution controls that prevent greenhouse gases from escaping. Low technology facilities do not, so a default emission factor is applied.
- How organic carbon content is determined: High technology projects must use laboratory analysis. Low technology projects can use lab analysis or default values from a table in the methodology.
- Eligible applications for the biochar: Only high technology biochar can be used in non-soil applications. Both types can be used in soil applications.
High Technology Production Facility
A facility is classified as high technology only if it meets all four conditions set out in Section 3 of VM0044, based on the European Biochar Certificate (EBC) Production Guidelines.
- Condition 1: Pyrolytic greenhouse gases must be recovered or combusted. During pyrolysis, gases are produced inside the kiln. In a high technology facility, these gases cannot escape into the atmosphere. They must either be captured and used, or burned in a controlled way. Any uncontrolled release disqualifies the facility.
- Condition 2: At least 70% of the heat energy produced by pyrolysis must be used. The pyrolysis process generates heat. A high technology facility must demonstrate that at least 70% of that heat is put to productive use, even after accounting for heat transfer inefficiencies. This is verified using the lower heating value of the feedstock and the quantity of biochar produced.
- Condition 3: Emissions controls must be present. A high technology facility must have a thermal oxidizer or other emissions control system that meets local, national, or international emission thresholds. If more than one regulatory standard applies, the strictest standard governs.
- Condition 4: Production temperature must be measured and recorded electronically. The temperature of the pyrolysis process must be measured during production and recorded using instruments that log data electronically. Manual or estimated temperature records do not qualify.
If any single one of the four high technology conditions is not met, the facility is automatically classified as low technology. There is no partial credit. All four conditions must be satisfied.
Low Technology Production Facility
A low technology production facility is any facility that does not meet all four high technology conditions. Low technology systems are common in smallholder and farm settings. Traditional kilns and flame curtain systems are typical examples. These systems are simpler, less instrumented, and do not require pollution controls to the same standard.
Think about the difference between an industrial steel furnace with a full emissions capture system and a traditional charcoal kiln built in a field. Both produce char by heating biomass with limited oxygen. But the industrial furnace records temperatures electronically, routes gases through afterburners, and measures energy recovery. The field kiln relies on the skill of the operator and has no monitoring equipment. Both can participate in VM0044, but they are treated differently in the carbon accounting because their process controls are very different.
Applicability Conditions Relating to Technology
Section 4 of VM0044 sets out the applicability conditions that all projects must meet. Three of these are directly relevant to the technology classification.
- Applicability Condition 1: Eligible thermochemical process. The methodology applies when biochar is produced by pyrolysis, gasification, or a biomass boiler. These three processes are treated the same way for GHG accounting purposes. Torrefaction and hydrothermal carbonization are not eligible. Both of those processes produce solid products, but the products are not significantly more persistent in soil than the original feedstock, so they do not achieve meaningful long-term carbon storage.
- Applicability Condition 2: Either facility type can participate. VM0044 explicitly allows both high technology and low technology production facilities. The methodology does not require high technology. Smaller-scale and lower-cost systems can still generate carbon credits, subject to the different accounting rules that apply to each type.
- Applicability Condition 3: Health and safety program. All biochar producers, regardless of technology level, must have a health and safety program in place. This program must protect workers from airborne pollutants and other hazards associated with biomass handling and thermochemical conversion.
GHG Accounting Differences
The technology classification changes how methane emissions from the pyrolysis kiln are treated.
For high technology facilities, process emissions during pyrolysis are considered de minimis, meaning approximately zero. The pollution controls required by the high technology definition prevent greenhouse gases from escaping. The project proponent does not need to calculate or report methane emissions from the kiln itself.
For low technology facilities, methane emissions during pyrolysis are not de minimis. A default emission factor is applied. If the kiln type is known, a kiln-specific factor may be used. If the kiln type is unknown, the default emission factor (Fe) is 0.049 tonnes of CH4 per tonne of biochar produced.
Permanence Determination
The classification also determines how the organic carbon content (Fcp) of the biochar is established.
- For high technology projects, Fcp must be determined through laboratory material analysis of the actual biochar produced. No default substitution is permitted.
- For low technology projects, Fcp can be determined by laboratory analysis. However, if laboratory analysis is not possible, default values from Table 4 of VM0044 may be used instead. These default values are organized by feedstock type and production process.
Eligible Applications
The technology classification places a hard restriction on where biochar can be applied.
High technology biochar is eligible for both soil applications (agricultural land, gardens, forests) and non-soil applications (concrete, asphalt, building materials, feed, and other manufactured products).
Low technology biochar is eligible only for soil applications. It cannot be used in non-soil applications.
Summary Comparison
| Criterion | High Technology | Low Technology |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Meets all four EBC-based conditions: gas recovery, 70% heat use, emissions controls, electronic temperature recording | Does not meet one or more of the four conditions |
| Emissions during production | De minimis (zero). No kiln CH4 calculation required. | CH4 emissions calculated using default Fe of 0.049 tCH4/t biochar (if kiln type unknown) |
| Organic carbon content (Fcp) determination | Laboratory material analysis only | Laboratory analysis, or Table 4 default values if lab analysis is not possible |
| Eligible applications | Soil applications and non-soil applications | Soil applications only |
| Common system types | Industrial pyrolysis plants, large gasification units with emissions controls | Traditional kilns, flame curtain systems, smallholder systems |
Non-soil applications are end uses where biochar is incorporated into a long-lived product rather than mixed into agricultural land. Examples recognized in VM0044 include concrete and cement products, asphalt, building materials, animal feed (where biochar passes through and is deposited elsewhere), water filtration media, and certain manufactured goods. The key requirement is that the biochar must be shown to remain in a stable, non-degrading environment for the full accounting period. Only high technology biochar is eligible for these applications because the methodology requires a higher degree of production quality control and documentation to support non-soil permanence claims.
Key Takeaways
- 1Biochar must be applied within one year of production - any biochar stored longer than 12 months is ineligible for crediting
- 2Soil applications require H:Corg of 0.7 or below, confirming the biochar is truly stable and highly carbonized
- 3Surface soil application requires mixing biochar with compost, manure, or digestate to prevent wind erosion and fire risk - subsurface application has no mixing requirement
- 4Non-soil applications (concrete, asphalt) are restricted to high technology biochar only and require proof the product is genuinely long-lived
- 5Any application that destroys more than 50% of the original biochar carbon is excluded - this rules out most activated carbon manufacturing and all fuel uses
- 6Wetlands are explicitly excluded from eligible soil application sites