Decarbonising steel with organic waste: Pyrochar

Why Melbourne?

Pyrochar technology was born in Melbourne from the incredible minds at CSIRO. We strategically located our head office, lab and initial production facility directly across the road from CSIRO’s primary Melbourne research centre. Now we have some of the smartest minds in Australia a literal stone's throw away. Through this, we have been able to solve some key problems the steel industry is facing over a ‘bhan mi’ in CSIRO’s office cafeteria. 

“CSIRO’s role in this technology was to research the problems faced in steel decarbonisation and develop a technical solution. Pyrochar’s role now is to commercialise this technology and scale it up, while solving all the problems that come with disrupting an industry that has been around for almost a thousand years.  I am very proud we are a Melbourne company with Melbourne technology working to solve one of the biggest problems in the world – decarbonising metal production.” 

– Pyrochar CEO, Cameron Bell  

Challenge

Metal production contributes about 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, the iron and steel industry alone accounts for approximately 6.7% of total world CO2 emissions. On average, 1.9 tonnes of CO2 are emitted for every tonne of steel produced.  

This alarming footprint is mostly due to intense production processes that rely heavily on coal and coke (carbon). It is a footprint that is getting bigger and more expensive. Metal production costs are increasing by 6% per annum and the price of metallurgic coal has doubled in the last four years. 

Escalating costs make it increasingly difficult for manufacturers to meet growing demand and coincide with mounting pressure from governments, investors and consumers to find sustainable production alternatives. As a result, metal manufacturers face an immediate and critical challenge – find sustainable alternatives to coal and coke to reduce their carbon footprint without compromising quality or profitability.  

Solution

Melbourne biocarbon manufacturer, Pyrochar, is commercialising a CSIRO-developed technology to produce high grade biocarbon and metallurgical char (metchar) with significantly less energy and lower cost requirements than traditional manufacturing methods.  

The most commercially advanced in the world, the PyroChar® technology uses a self-sustaining pyrolysis (thermal degradation of organic material without using oxygen) process to create ‘clean char’ – an inexpensive, net-zero emissions alternative to coal for the steel industry. It also generates valuable by-products like organic liquids and simple organic gases. 

From a steel manufacturer’s perspective, employing this ground-breaking tech translates into greater energy efficiency, reduced emissions, faster processing, consistent product quality and versatility. 

Pivotal to the solution is Pyrochar’s partnership with CSIRO. More than 13 years in research and development, CSIRO’s Australia Steel Industry CO2 Breakthrough Program set its sights on producing green steelmaking technologies using biowaste-derived chars for domestic and international markets. 

Pyrochar Pty Ltd was established to be the exclusive license technology holder to scale up the PyroChar® technology and process, then deploy the technology within the steel and ironmaking industries. 

“Our collaboration with CSIRO enables us to deliver this ground-breaking technology on a global scale, and we are committed to promoting sustainable steel production across the industry.”  

– Pyrochar CEO, Cameron Bell  

Result

Replacing coal with ‘clean char’ cuts greenhouse gas emissions from steelmaking by up to 60%, which makes Pyrochar’s technology a very attractive and pragmatic proposition. It doesn’t require producers to make expensive modifications to their plant or processes but brings them more in line with acceptable sustainable practices. 

Inevitably, investors are knocking on the door – Pyrochar is currently working with wholesale and institutional investors aligned with decarbonisation, and green impact investing.  

Pyrochar has an industrial scale pilot plant and its first commercial plant in production, along with several others at varying stages of development. 

For example, Pyrochar is in the advanced stages of developing a new net-zero carbon plant for a green magnesium refinery in Collie, Western Australia. The project will produce a metallurgic grade of net zero carbon to replace fossil-fuelled carbon (coal) in magnesium manufacturing for domestic and international use. Developed in collaboration with Magnium Australia, when the new plan comes online in 2025 it will be the first fully integrated ‘green magnesium’ production facility in the world.  

“Engineers and scientists are working around the clock on how to decarbonize cement, steel, and plastics; shipping, trucking, and aviation; agriculture, energy, and construction. I believe the decarbonizing of the global economy is going to create the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime.” 

– Larry Fink, CEO BlackRock Inc.