Heber City-based biochar company CO2-Sync and Carbo-FORCE celebrated a major milestone last month with the ribbon cutting and open house of a CF-1000 commercial pyrolysis facility in Price, bringing together representatives from state and local government, forestry, utilities, business, carbon markets and the biochar industry.

CO2-Sync CEO Darrell Huntsman, along with Kia Alberding and Max Alberding of Carbo-FORCE, welcomed guests to the facility and discussed the collaboration, technology and vision that brought the project from concept to commercial operation.

The event provided guests with an opportunity to see the CF-1000 operating firsthand and learn how low-value woody biomass can be transformed into premium biochar, durable carbon removal, useful thermal energy and renewable electricity.

The CF-1000 is designed to process more than 1,000 kilograms of biomass per hour and produce premium biochar while capturing thermal energy generated during pyrolysis, or decomposition brought about by high temperatures.

CO2-Sync’s founders began as timber framers, processing significant quantities of wood and generating sawdust, chips, cutoffs and other residual material. Their search for a productive use for that material ultimately led to biochar and pyrolysis.

As the company became more involved in the technology, it recognized that the same problem existed on a much larger scale across forests throughout the western United States.

Beetle-killed timber, standing dead trees and hazardous forest fuels represent an enormous forest-management challenge and contribute to increasing wildfire risk. Removing that material can improve forest health, but without viable markets for the biomass, the economics of large-scale forest restoration remain difficult.

The CF-1000 offers a different approach, the founders say, where the problem becomes the solution.

By converting forest biomass into valuable products and energy, these facilities can potentially create an economic outlet for material removed through forest restoration while supporting healthier firesheds and watersheds.

At the Price facility, the generated thermal energy can be integrated with Organic Rankine Cycle technology to produce renewable electricity, the company said, which demonstrates the potential for forest biomass to contribute to reliable, distributed energy generation in addition to biochar production and carbon removal.

The facility also incorporates digital monitoring, reporting and verification technology to document the carbon-removal process.

At the ribbon cutting, Huntsman spoke about the importance of bringing together technology, forestry, local industry and energy production to create a model that can be replicated beyond the Price facility.

Utah Department of Natural Resources Director Jamie Barnes joined the event and spoke about Utah’s forests, wildfire challenges and the importance of the people working to protect them.

During her remarks, Barnes also recognized the two helicopter pilots recently killed while fighting wildfire and reminded those attending of the human cost associated with protecting forests and communities from catastrophic fire.

CO2-Sync expressed its condolences to the pilots’ families, friends and colleagues and its appreciation for the firefighters, pilots and first responders who put themselves in harm’s way protecting communities and natural resources.

The company believes technologies such as the CF-1000 can complement that work by addressing hazardous fuels before they contribute to catastrophic wildfire.

Local government and business leaders also participated in the event, highlighting the importance of bringing new forest-products, clean-energy and manufacturing opportunities to Carbon County.

The project received significant support from Carbon County throughout development and permitting, along with local contractors and tradespeople who helped bring the facility into operation.

CO2-Sync also recognized its co-founder, Kip Apostol, whose vision and passion for forests and the timber industry helped drive the project from its earliest stages.

CO2-Sync and Carbo-FORCE said they see the Price facility as a demonstration of a model that could eventually be deployed throughout forested regions where communities face the combined challenges of hazardous fuels, forest restoration costs and increasing demand for reliable local energy.

The concept connects three resources that are increasingly important throughout the West: the fireshed, the watershed and the electrical grid.

Rather than treating forest waste solely as a liability, the Price project demonstrates the potential to turn that material into a productive resource, they said.