Agriculture is central to both the UK and Cornwall, with over 70% of Cornwall's land farmed in some form. Farmers are facing mounting pressures, degraded soils, shifting subsidy regimes, and an increasingly extreme climate. This biochar project offers a potential solution, sequestering carbon while improving soil health as a natural amendment.
Biochar is a stable, carbon-rich material made by heating plant residues to 350-1000°C with little oxygen. It locks carbon into solid form long-term and boosts soil nutrients and plant productivity.
Restord is a UK-based carbon removal company building and operating co-located biochar facilities within municipal green-waste systems. By partnering with waste contractors, Restord converts locally sourced woody biomass into permanent carbon removal, renewable energy, and high-quality biochar for agriculture and industry, creating a scalable pathway for regional decarbonisation across the UK.
The company converts locally sourced woody biomass, including tree surgery waste collected through Cornwall's municipal green-waste system, into biochar. This stable, carbon-rich material locks away CO2 for over 100 years, while improving the agricultural soils it is applied to.
To dry the biochar and reduce its moisture content, the project uses a heat recovery system. This means that the heat is captured and reused from a previous pyrolysis cycle to dry the next batch of wood. It is a simple but effective way to reduce energy use and improve the sustainability of the overall system.
After pyrolysis, biochar is the primary output. It is tested for its carbon content and structure before being used in field trials or applied to soil.
Restord delivers meaningful climate impact by permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere through biochar production while simultaneously reducing emissions from industrial processes. By converting waste biomass that would otherwise decompose or be burned into stable carbon storage and renewable thermal energy, the project addresses emissions across multiple pathways and supports the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The project supports healthier and more resilient ecosystems by transforming waste biomass into biochar that can be applied to soils, improving soil structure, nutrient retention, and water-holding capacity. This helps enhance soil health, supports more sustainable land management practices, and promotes long-term carbon storage in agricultural systems.
Restord creates positive outcomes for local communities by strengthening regional supply chains, supporting green jobs, and building partnerships with local farmers, suppliers, and industry stakeholders. Through improved agricultural productivity, cleaner industrial processes, and investment in climate innovation, the project contributes to local economic resilience and community wellbeing.
The pyrolysis process generates renewable thermal energy, supporting low-carbon asphalt production and displacing more carbon-intensive energy sources.
The project supports local supply chains, from biomass sourcing to plant operations and biochar distribution, creating economic opportunities across Cornwall.
Waste woody biomass is converted into valuable outputs including biochar, renewable heat, and carbon removals, supporting circular economy principles.
The project delivers durable carbon removal while avoiding emissions from biomass decomposition and reducing industrial emissions.
Biochar application improves soil health, fertility, water retention, and land resilience, supporting more sustainable agricultural systems.
These partners help deliver the project and verify its impact.
Restord began as a simple idea on a family farm in Cornwall, to turn local waste into something that restores the land and locks away carbon. What started as an experiment has become a working model for carbon removal that stays local, traceable, and grounded in science.
A public record of biochar carbon-removal transactions and retirements recorded through the CapChar platform.
