Heaptalk, Jakarta — Nol Karbon, an Indonesian carbon project developer, provides biochar credits in carbon trading. Biochar credits are seen as a technology for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Included in the nature gas for agriculture sector, biochar capture and store carbons. Unlike the burn material, this biomass is an activated carbon which can be put on top of the soils as fertilizers. Biochar works similarly to carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
“If you’re doing the CCUS, you capture carbon and then you put it on the storage like below the land. Meanwhile for the biochar, you put it on the biochar itself. Every biomass that has been paralysis or burned can store carbons within time of years, like 100 years. It’s quite expensive actually,” explained Pera Malinda, Nol Karbon CEO, during a discussion with Poempida Hidayatulloh, an environmental activist, on the Forum Carbon Indonesia YouTube channel.
Developing mangrove and biogas projects
Nol Karbon partners with the land owners who have biomass waste. The company then assists them to navigate the process of building a biochar project. “We are building the high-quality projects and connecting with investor or buyers. We don’t build project unless there is already demand from buyers,” she voiced.
Thus far, the company has succeeded in building three biochar projects and 6,000 hectares of mangrove forest which can be expanded to 40,000 hectares. Pera, added, “Now our focus is mainly on the mangrove and biochars. We also have the other exciting projects including the biogas, the agricultures in the rice field, as well as the other tropical forests. We are much more into more than energy and forestry.”
Indonesia’s Net Zero 2030 target is 31-43% of the emissions. Now, it is also one of the countries with the largest forests. According to Pera, Indonesia is in the top 10 in for mangrove forest area. “With the potential of our forests and the energy we have more than 400 megawatts from all renewable energy sources, Indonesia is playing a role not only in reducing emissions nationally but internationally,” Pera concluded.
