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🗞️ Driving the news: A low-cost, mobile machine known as the PyroTower is enabling smallholder farmers in developing countries to convert crop waste into carbon-storing biochar
• Developed by a Kenyan engineer and deployed by the worker-owned cooperative PlantVillage+, the solar-powered device produces nearly 2,000 pounds of biochar in an eight-hour run — offering an affordable, scalable alternative to costly industrial carbon removal technologies
🔭 The context: Biochar is a form of charcoal made by heating biomass in low-oxygen conditions. It stabilizes carbon that would otherwise re-enter the atmosphere as plants decompose
• When applied to soil, it also boosts water retention, nutrient availability, and crop yields — particularly in tropical and degraded soils
• While biochar’s benefits are well-documented, production has historically been costly and logistically complex, limiting its deployment in the Global South
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Biochar is emerging as a viable negative-emissions solution with strong co-benefits for agriculture and climate resilience. Unlike tree planting, it offers a quantifiable and durable form of carbon removal — biochar can remain stable in soil for centuries
• The PyroTower’s design makes biochar accessible in rural areas, supporting climate mitigation, soil regeneration, and local job creation
• It also avoids methane and CO₂ emissions from burning or decomposing crop waste, a major but often overlooked climate risk
⏭️ What's next: PlantVillage+ is scaling deployment across African farming communities, where cooperative members vote on operations and retain 95% of generated revenue
• The group is exploring carbon credit financing and subscription models to monetise carbon storage
• Researchers are assessing how biochar can be integrated into global soil and climate strategies — including its potential role in verified carbon removal markets and national adaptation plans
💬 One quote: “Our thesis is that you can increase food productivity, creating lots of jobs, and Africa has natural abilities to be the world’s carbon factory.” — David Hughes, Founder of PlantVillage+ and Professor at Penn State
📈 One stat: The PyroTower produces nearly 2,000 pounds of biochar per day at a cost of $15,000 — around 100 times cheaper than industrial biochar systems
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