BIOCHARm - Potential analysis of the use of biochar in the construction industry as a contribution to achieving climate neutrality

To achieve the Paris climate targets, greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors must be drastically reduced and additional carbon must be removed from the atmosphere through so-called carbon removals, i.e. negative emissions, and permanently stored on the earth's surface or underground. One solution for the permanent removal of carbon from the atmosphere is biochar. However, with regard to the use of biochar in the construction sector and the associated effects, there are still numerous open questions in Austria regarding the availability, properties and possible uses of biogenic raw materials and the biochars produced from them by pyrolysis. The project aims to investigate the potential and limitations of the use of biochar in the building sector in Austria. This is done in three coordinated phases with a systemic, analytical and technical focus, which are implemented in temporally coordinated work packages. In the project, we investigate the availability of relevant biogenic material flows as a raw material for pyrolysis and their use in the construction sector. In addition, we analyse the specific material characteristics of selected biochars to understand their properties and, based on this, to evaluate their applicability in the construction industry. We create detailed life cycle assessments of the analysed biochars to determine the environmental impacts and to find out how pyrolysed biogenic carbon can be accounted for in life cycle assessments. Based on these availabilities and characteristics, we identify potential applications in the construction sector. Finally, we analyse the normative landscape for the identified applications of biochar in the construction sector in Austria to identify gaps in laws, standards and guidelines. The project will thus create new knowledge about the innovative raw material biochar, which will be of outstanding importance for future developments in Austria, but also at the European level. In particular, new insights are expected regarding the availability of biogenic raw materials for use as biochars and their possible applications in the construction sector. In addition, new insights are expected from the analysis of biochars for material development. Finally, findings on life cycle assessment and, thus, recommendations for future decisions to achieve a climate-neutral building stock will be developed.