Biochar's Likely Market Impacts

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http://tinyurl.com/pc7nu2

by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA (attended the NA Biochar Conference)

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Biochar is still mostly a research and cottage industry, yet it has
the potential to impact returns for a broad range of investors.

Biochar, or amending soil with biomass-derived carbon, shows great
potential to improve the productivity of soils, as well as to increase
the utilization of fertilizers by plants, while sequestering carbon to
reduce the drivers of climate change. On August 10, I went to the 2009
North American Biochar Conference to look at the potential for
investors.

Before I went, I took a look at the publicly traded companies involved
in biochar. I did not learn of any new public companies at the
conference, but I have nevertheless become increasingly convinced that
biochar has a large role to play in moving to a sustainable economy,
not just for energy, but for agriculture.

While the biochar industry is still too early stage for most stock
market investors, understanding the economics of biochar will give
investors insight into the effects the broad use of biochar will have
on the overall economy, and their other investments. Many types of
public companies are likely to be impacted. Some industries likely to
be affected are

* Agricultural and forestry companies, which may benefit from
increased yields and an additional market for their products,
* Advanced biofuel companies which may have to compete with biochar
companies for feedstock, as well as for a place in low carbon fuel
standards with a biofuel with a much lower carbon footprint,
* Any participants in environmental markets for carbon offsets, since
biochar is likely to be a source of carbon credits.