Project Dates: 01.02.2025 to 01.08.2025

In June 2022, DEF purchased a second hand Exeter Retort biochar kiln for our grantee, Flete Field Lab to use freely as they wished in support of their mycelium and biochar project.

At the time, the kiln cost £10,000 and DEF kept ownership of it to safeguard funds raised, as the project was still in its pilot phase, and we didn’t know its longer term future.

Happily, Flete Field Lab continues to flourish. So in April 2024, DEF transferred ownership of the biochar kiln to FFL to use as they wish. Due to depreciation, the value of the kiln at time of transfer was estimated to be £6,341.

We are delighted to continue helping Flete Field Lab to maximise the effectiveness of their mycelium and biochar project by gifting them the biochar kiln.

Huge thanks to Olympus Power for generously donating to DEF to enable the purchase of this biochar kiln to sequester carbon from waste wood derived from local farms, to sequester carbon back into local soil.

PROJECT SUMMARY MAY 2025: 

Project Activities and Impact: 

Public Engagement through Art: Supplied biochar and supported interpretation for Bodies of Water, a contemporary art commission at Al La Ronde. This has helped broaden understanding of soil and water care among new audiences.

Engineering and Fabrication Milestone:

• Finalised mechanical design and commissioned local fabrication for a bespoke, scalable biochar crusher tailored to farm-scale use.
• Fabrication is currently in progress.

Policy Contribution: Submitted evidence to the UK parliamentary inquiry on PFAS, raising awareness of biochar’s role (in combination with mycofiltration) as a nature-based filtration material.

Furthermore, the project was invited to present project biochar research at the Plymouth University Biochar Symposium (March 2025), strengthening the project’s academic links and positioning Flete Field Lab as a pioneering field-based innovator in biochar production and application.

 

Images courtesy of Flete Field Lab.