Finzelberg as cooperation partner: Student project on biochar awarded

Finzelberg has been informed with great pleasure, that the ninth grade student of the Wiedtal-Gymnasium, Ben Schellberg, took second place with his project on biochar in the regional competition “Jugend forscht”. As a cooperation partner of this project, we would like to offer our warmest congratulations on this fantastic achievement. 

How was the collaboration established and how did it work?

 Finzelberg was not only a cooperation partner in the biochar project, but also primarily a source of inspiration. Because in summer 2023, a group of students of the Wiedtal-Gymnasium visited the company as part of a project week on the topic of sustainability. In this context, the topic of biochar was also highlighted and examined in greater detail because it is very important to deal with this valuable substance in the fight against climate change. The topic of biochar, which we presented, inspired the student Ben Schellberg so much that he decided afterwards to dedicate his project work to it.

As his cooperation partner, we provided biochar and explained the possible applications in agriculture, for example with the help of planting beds. We also helped to select suitable explanatory material, for example by researching and providing publicly accessible online videos that explain how to produce biochar in a steel barrel.

How can biochar help in the fight against climate change?

Biochar can be used in many different ways such as to treat water or improve soil health. The truly brilliant thing about biochar is that the carbon is bound stably for at least 1,000 years. The carbon is thus removed from the Earth’s atmosphere for the long-term.

Finzelberg makes biochar from its plant extraction residues. Our special pyrolysis facility carbonizes plant remains by exposing them to high temperatures in the almost entire absence of oxygen. Finzelberg plans to create 1,600 tonnes of biochar each year, thus binding 4,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. The waste heat from the pyrolysis process can be used in our production plant.

We are delighted that the resulting ecological and economic benefits of biochar made a lasting impression on the students as well. We hope that even more attention will be paid to this sustainable and innovative topic in the future and we look forward to continuing to inspire young people about sustainability.