What They Do

PyroCCS (pi-rocks) is building integrated solutions for biomass owners to maximise the value of their waste. Bringing together proprietary pyrolysis technologies, multi-product offtake, and innovative financing structures, they are building the system needed to deploy biochar at scale for carbon removal and as drop-in products for industrial decarbonisation.

With an estimated 86% of the world’s biomass located in the Global South - some 430 billion tonnes - there is a significant opportunity to connect biomass owners in the Global South with the suite of solutions needed to tap into the value it holds. PyroCCS's first projects are in Namibia, where the main feedstock - encroaching acacia bush - is destroying local livelihoods if left unchecked.

Why it Matters

We view biomass through three lenses: carbon, energy and nutrient value. Biomass processing technologies optimise for one or two of those factors, and triaging between them depends on the biomass type and demand landscape for the resulting products.

On a global basis, the supply of biomass is vast and there are many opportunities for turning biomass waste into value. In most cases, however, the market and logistics for these use cases does not yet exist at scale. Bio-based fuels are already an important pathway for decarbonisation and energy security, but the use of biochar on soils, where it improves soil structure, water retention, and reduces nutrient leaching, or for industrial uses such as replacing a portion of coke or coal in steel-making, are not yet widely established or easily monetisable.

Tapping into the potential value from biomass requires fitting the puzzle pieces together: identifying suitable biomass supply, conversion technologies that produce quality outputs to the correct specification, aggregation, processing and supply logistics, and offtake agreements to match products with demand. We don’t think that there is one technology, one feedstock type, or one offtake market that trumps all. PyroCCS's model is built around that flexibility, working closely with operators on the ground to leverage this underutilised resource.