06.09.2022 | News
Danish cleantech company MASH Makes A/S has developed a new pyrolysis technology to produce carbon-negative biofuels and biochar from agricultural residues. The company has just secured EUR 1.75 million in green financing from Nefco, the Nordic Green Bank, to accelerate the first commercial implementation of the solution.
MASH Makes’ unique technology platform builds on knowledge from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Several patents have already been filed for the process, which is modular and containerised, meaning it can be implemented almost anywhere and scaled up as necessary. The present solution is a pyrolysis reactor that produces biochar and bio oil from agricultural side streams and residues. The technology is already in use in the state of Maharashtra in India.
“Burning agricultural quantities of crop residues causes significant annual CO2 emissions in India and is a major source of air pollution,” says MASH Makes CEO Jakob Andersen. “Our technology enables biochar production from waste materials, resulting in large amounts of soil carbon sequestration. In addition, using biochar in otherwise barren soil improves soil quality and agricultural yields, thus addressing the growing problem of land depletion and desertification due to climate change. Finally, our biofuels reduce the need for fossil fuels in heavy industries.”
The company recently reached a significant milestone when it secured a contract to sell carbon credit certificates for up to 6,000 tons of CO2 through the German carbon removal platform Carbonfuture GmbH. The carbon credits are certified under the European Biochar Certificate (EBC).
To fulfil this commitment, MASH Makes is installing four containerised biochar reactors in Karnataka, India, with a total annual biochar production capacity of up to 7,200 tons. That corresponds to up to 20,000 tons of CO2 sequestration, equivalent to the yearly emissions of 4,000 Danes, and the biochar will be produced alongside 4,700 tons of biofuel. Production requires 25,000 tons of agricultural residues, which are abundant in the region.
Nefco’s financing will be matched with additional funding from existing investors to secure the first large-scale commercial implementation of the technology.
“MASH Makes’ modular design is highly innovative and flexible, making the technology available to remote locations and hard-to-reach regions,” says Søren Berg Rasmussen, Investment Manager at Nefco. “Our environmental assessments show that the technology contributes substantially to climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and replacing fossil fuels with biofuels. We are proud to support the commercial roll-out of the technology and hope that our involvement attracts further investment from commercial banks and other investors.”
For further information, please contact:
Søren Berg Rasmussen, Investment Manager, Nefco
soren.rasmussen@nefco.int, +358 10 618 0674
Jakob Andersen, CEO MASH Makes A/S
jakob@MASH-biotech.com, +45 20765529
About MASH Makes A/S
MASH Makes A/S is an Indo-Danish green tech company that aims to have a positive climate impact by producing carbon-negative biofuel. It started as a project at the Technological University of Denmark (DTU) centred around a technology that can convert various waste streams into different energy products. MASH Makes’ automated machines are able to produce bio-oil, hydrogen and electricity from agricultural waste. An important by-product of the process is biochar, a soil amendment that actively absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and can be used to enrich soil. For more information, visit: www.MASHmakes.com
