Climate expert and IPCC author Oliver Geden keynote speaker at Biochar Summit

Hundreds of international participants are expected for a four-day programme featuring conferences, workshops, and site visits when the Biochar Summit takes place at Clarion Hotel & Congress Sea U in Helsingborg in June. The event brings together municipalities, businesses, academia, and industry for insightful discussions and collaborations on the potential of biochar. 

Biochar has emerged as an increasingly important alternative for alleviating global warming while managing Earth’s resources sustainably. Now, the industry gathers in Helsingborg to exchange knowledge and explore new opportunities for increased utilisation. In Helsingborg, the biochar facility is part of a local circular loop where branches and trimmings from the city’s parks and residents’ gardens are used. During production, carbon dioxide is bound in biochar, resulting in reduced emissions into the atmosphere, which can contribute to limiting global warming.

Already, approximately 200 people have registered for The Biochar Summit, and more are expected to join. The organisers aim to gather a total of 400 participants, and it is already clear that it will be an international event. Among those who have registered so far are representatives from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and the Nordic countries.

The participants will have the opportunity to influence the future use of biochar. The conference is intended to serve as a platform for future development and collaborations to benefit both the environment and the climate, says Eva Stål from NSR (Northwest Skåne Waste Management), who is working as part of the event on behalf of Helsingborg City.

A great event is nothing without interesting speakers. Those attending the event in June can look forward to hearing from, among others, Dr. Oliver Geden from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, who was involved in writing the latest IPCC report. In addition, several abstracts of projects and research based on the five themes chosen as focus areas: soil health, urban applications, materials, carbon sinks, and legislation have been submitted. Based on this material, a research network for biochar, the Nordic Biochar Network, have selected many speakers who will present their work at the event.

The Biochar Summit takes place from June 12th to 15th, with the biochar conference scheduled for June 13th and 14th. On June 12th, NSR’s competence centre RecoPark will organise workshops, and there will also be an opportunity for participants to visit the city’s biochar plant. The plant was inaugurated in 2022 and will produce 1,500 tons of biochar annually. On June 15th, conference participants will be offered an organised tour with visits to other biochar production facilities in Skåne.

The Biochar Summit is a collaboration between the European Biochar Industry, a European trade organisation for biochar producers, the Nordic Biochar Network, and the City of Helsingborg.

You can find more information about the event here: https://www.biochar-summit.eu/
Learn more about RecoPark and Helsingborg’s biochar plant here: https://nsr.se/recopark-ett-nytt-kompetenscenter-for-biokol/